


Imagine me and you

by BlushLouise



Category: Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: After TLK, Bayverse violence, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Coping, F/M, Fear to friendship, Friends to Lovers, Minor Character Death, No holoforms, Tactile Sexual Interfacing, Xeno, cross-species romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-05-01 00:39:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 95,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14508666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlushLouise/pseuds/BlushLouise
Summary: Mattie was terrified of the aliens. But after the world almost ended, she's forced to think again. Then there is the tall yellow Autobot that she just can't get out of her mind...How to you have a relationship with an alien? And even if she figures that out, will she survive the alien war she's thrust into, where even the fate of the planet is at stake?Set after The Last Knight.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The first couple of chapters are short, I'm afraid. Expect bi-weekly updates, probably Tuesdays and Fridays.

The first think she noticed was the mild tremor. The table was vibrating slightly under her hand. At first she thought it was an earthquake, but then she heard the noises. There was a high-pitched screeching, almost too high to hear, and several booms. She walked over to the window.

The building she lived in was not one of the tallest, but she still had a view down towards the university and the oceanfront. When the weather was nice, she did her reading on her little balcony. If it was cold outside she would bring a quilt and some hot chocolate. The balcony was the only reason she'd gone for this flat.

Now it gave her a panoramic view of impending disaster.

A thick layer of smoke hid downtown. There were flashes of light coming out of it every now and then – it looked like a low-hanging thunderstorm, except no thunderstorm ever hugged the ground like that. And up in the air, something was coming down fast. Something _big_.

_It's those robot aliens._

She'd seen them in the news, of course. The robot aliens that suddenly appeared everywhere over the last years. The spikes coming out of the ground only recently. But the last couple of days she'd mostly spent in the pool, practicing for the swimming competition coming up in a couple of weeks, or doing schoolwork. She hadn't heard anything about something huge falling from the sky.

It was enormous. Pieces and bits were falling off it, and crashing to the ground. She saw a building get hit by a shard that was bigger than the building was – it was levelled instantly. All the while, the noises were increasing and the smoke spread. There were loud booms, something that sounded like gunfire, and all the time that keening.

_Oh, fuck._

Down on the street, people had started running. She looked up – there was no end to the thing in the sky that she could see, it seemed to be as wide as the city itself. But suddenly, running seemed like a good idea. Staying put in the building certainly wasn't.

_Have to get out of town._

She turned, and hurriedly grabbed her purse and cellphone. Then she got a couple of water bottles from the fridge, along with whatever food was readily available, threw in a change of clothes, slung her guitar case on her back, and ran out of the apartment without bothering to lock the door. She took the stairs two at the time, exited the front door at a dead run and swung immediately to the right, making for the quickest route out of town.

She didn't get very far.

A large shard of the thing in the sky crashed into the building in front of her. It was a combined gym/mini-mall with a few apartments on top – she could hear screaming from inside. And the wall of the building started falling out towards her.

She looked around. There was nowhere to go. Quickly, she darted to the left, making for the alley between two of the houses. That was a dead end. But if she made it in there, the building in front wouldn't fall on her.

She almost made it.

A shower of falling concrete and rebar hit her as she reached the corner.

Her name was Mattie Eden. She was twenty years old. And now she was going to die.


	2. Chapter 2

  
There was…. An awareness. A sensation. Something existed, and it was _she_.

For an eternity, she drifted; still anchored to this something, but also cut off from it.

The next, was pain. Something hurt. A _lot_. This something that was she was in agony.

As one eternity ended and another began, there was a realization that there was more besides herself. There was an existence around her.

Suddenly she realized she had form. And with that realization, she crashed back into her body again.

* * *

The light was very bright against her squinting eyes. She couldn't move, and there was something holding her down.

_I am…. Me. I am here. Where am I?_

As her eyes gradually adjusted, she started taking in her whereabouts.

The something holding her down was a white sheet. She was in a bed that had rails on it.

_Oh. I'm in a - thing. Hospital. Yes._

Tentatively, she found her arms and legs again. She tried opening and closing her mouth, and wiggled her fingers. She tried wiggling her toes.

_Ow._

She looked down. Her legs seemed unnaturally large and bulky under the sheet.

_Broken? Yes. Broken, and in a cast. Both of them?_

She wiggled the toes on her left foot. Then her right.

_Yes. Both of them._

Next, she looked around. There was a red cord hanging down next to her bed. She pulled it.

After a few moments, the door to the room she was in opened.

A nurse entered with a clipboard. She was fresh-faced and blonde, with a sweet face and merry blue eyes. "Hi, Marie-Theresa, you're awake! That's good! I'm Bethany, I'm your nurse."

She walked over to the bed and looked at the machines standing around it. "All good, I see." She smiled again. "Are you up for talking to me a bit?"

"Yes," she whispered. Then she cleared her throat. "I think so." _Much better_.

"Good. Now, what is your name?"

"I'm Mattie Eden. Marie-Thérèse Saint-Édain, really." She paused. "I'm a French-American national, enrolled at the university here." She looked around. "Assuming I'm still where I was."

The nurse squeezed her hand. "I'm afraid you're not. You were taken to the hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. Your local hospital was damaged too badly to take in new patients. When you stabilized, you were transferred again, and now you're in Portland."

She thought about it. "Wow. That's a bit of a roundabout trip."

"Yes. Now, do you remember what happened to you?"

Mattie shook her head. "No. I don't remember being hurt. How was I hurt?"

The nurse drew a breath. "That's a long story. The critical part is that a building came down and you were caught underneath it."

"I see. And my legs are broken." She looked down at them. "Are they very broken?"

Nurse Bethany smiled again. She seemed to do that a lot. "No, thankfully, the breaks are clean and healing nicely. We were more worried about the rest of you, you inhaled a lot of dust and smoke. You've been in an artificial coma for a while, to give your body time to heal. How do you feel?"

Mattie thought for a moment. "A bit confused. And disconnected, if you know what I mean. I mean, I know who I am, and now I know why I'm here, but I can't seem to react to it."

The nurse nodded. "That will come. A bit of it is the painkillers, a bit of it is that your head still isn't quite awake."

_Sounds plausible._

"There is someone who's been waiting to see you, when you were awake," the nurse continued. "He's been calling a lot. A man named Cade Yeager. That familiar to you?"

Mattie shook her head. "Doesn't ring a bell. But he can probably come see me when you people say it's okay, I don't mind."

"I think he was part of the group that brought you in," the nurse said. "Him, and those Transformers of his."

Mattie stared. "You mean I was rescued by aliens?"

Bethany nodded and grinned.

"Wow." Mattie leaned back against her pillow. "Scratch that off my bucket list."

"I'll call him, then, let him know you're awake," the nurse said. "A doctor will be in to see you shortly."

Mattie nodded. Then the nurse left again.

_Wow. Close encounter. Good thing I was unconscious._


	3. Chapter 3

There was a knock on the door, and Nurse Bethany stuck her head in, smiling as always.

"Hey, Mattie, are you up for a visitor?"

Mattie grinned. "Anything to break up the day! Someone I know this time?" The last three weeks had been a steady stream of visitors, and she hadn't known any of them. Apparently, there was this support group out there that wanted to make sure that no one was ever left unvisited in the hospital. Most of them had been nice, though it was weird having to introduce herself to so many people.

"It's Cade Yeager," Bethany answered.

"Who? Oh, him! Yeah, sure, send him in." _Will be good to be able to put a face to this weirdo_.

But when the door opened wide, it was a teenage girl that walked in, a shy smile on her face. Behind her, a man followed.

"Hi, Mattie," the girl said. "I'm Izabella. With a z. This is Cade."

Mattie shook her hand, giving her a smile. "Hi, Izabella, nice to meet you."

The tall man stretched out his hand too. "Hey Mattie. Cade Yeager." He grinned as she shook his hand.

"Hi. Please, sit down." She gestured to the two chairs by her bed.

"I have to say, you look about a million times better than last time I saw you," Mr. Yeager said. "How are you feeling?"

"Good, mostly," Mattie replied. "I'm getting my leg casts off tomorrow, and everything else has healed up nicely. I had to take antibiotics for a while because my lungs had been damaged, and I'm still not quite back to myself cognitively, but I'm getting there. They say I should be back to my old self given time." She looked at them. "I have you to thank for this. They told me I wouldn't have lasted much longer."

Mr. Yeager shrugged. "It's Bumblebee you should thank. He was the one who heard you under all that rubble."

Mattie frowned. "Bumblebee?" _Does he mean…?_

"Yeah," Izabella chimed in. "He's an Autobot."

"You mean one of those alien robots, right? I thought they all had evil names. Like Dreadbot and Starscream."

"Those are Decepticons. They're the bad guys," Izabella asserted. "The good guys are called Autobots, and they don't have names like that. They're Bumblebee and Optimus Prime and Canopy and Drift and-"

Mr. Yeager held up a hand to stop the tirade. "Easy, young lady. Remember who you're talking to. Mattie probably doesn't need all these names right now." He smiled. "Yeah, Bumblebee found you and carried you to safety. Lucky he did too, I'm not sure a human would have heard you, not to mention lifting that wall off you." He put his hand into his jacket pocket and took out a phone. "Here, I can show you a picture of him if you like."

Mattie shook her head. "Thanks, but no. Those things give me nightmares. You still have a working phone?" She looked sadly towards the nightstand, where her trusty phone was. "Mine has turned into a fancy paperweight. I can't reach anybody."

"The civilian satellites are mostly down," he replied. "I have access to the military network though, so mine still works, yeah."

"Who are you trying to reach?" Izabella asked curiously. Then she smacked her hand to her mouth. "Were your family in the city too when it happened?"

Mattie shook her head. "I was alone. My parents and younger brother live in France, in Brittany. I haven't been able to get in touch with them after it happened." She scrubbed at her eyes angrily, willing away the few tears that were trickling down her cheeks. _Not now, Mattie. Keep it together_. "I don't even know if France was hit."

"I'm sorry," the younger girl said, taking her hand. "I lost my family when the Decepticons hit Chicago a few years back. At least I knew what happened to them at once. Not knowing must suck. I hope your family is all right."

Mattie squeezed her hand.

"If you want, I can try to track them down," Mr. Yeager offered. "If you give me their names."

"You would? Oh, Mr. Yeager, that would be fantastic." Her voice trembled. "I couldn't thank you enough."

"Call me Cade." He flashed her a grin. "And it's no problem. But it may take some time before I get results."

Mattie only nodded.

"So you're getting the casts off," Izabella said. "That must be nice."

_She's trying to lighten the mood_. "Yeah, casts are no fun. But at least that was all that was wrong. They say they want me to do some physical therapy to get my legs going again, I'm bound to have lost some muscle mass from being bedbound for close to two months. At least I was fit to begin with, that helps. If the physical therapy goes well, I'll be released in a couple of weeks, and then I can go home." She shook her head. "Don't know if my apartment still stands, though."

Mr. Yeager – Cade – looked solemnly at her. "I'm afraid a lot of that part of the city was destroyed." Izabella squeezed her hand again. "Cybertron was mostly centered over Europe, but the bits of the anchors that came down here wreaked a lot of destruction."

"Cybertron?"

"Yeah, the Transformers' home planet."

Mattie flinched. "A planet was colliding with us? And my apartment building is gone." Suddenly it was all too much for her. She buried her head in her arms.

"Thanks for coming," she mumbled. "Come back any time, I'd appreciate the visit. But I need some time." She heard them standing up. _My family_. "Oh, wait."

Hurriedly, she grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the nightstand and jotted down her family's names and last address. Then she handed the paper to Cade. "Here. My parents, Chloe and Edouard, and my brother Jacques Marcel. I really do appreciate it."

He took the paper and nodded. Then he pulled Izabella along with him – she was constantly looking at Mattie over her shoulder – and walked through the door.

"We'll come back in a few days," Izabella called from the doorway. Mattie only nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

Mattie straightened, and wiped the sweat from her brow. She was grinning.

"I finally got it that time, didn't I?" she asked proudly.

Jill, her physical therapist, smiled back and nodded. "That was really good, Mattie. Keep this up, and we'll let you go in a few days to continue the training on your own."

"Brilliant." Mattie flashed her a smile. "Are we done for now? I'm beat."

"Yup, we're done!" Jill said, handing Mattie her water bottle. "And it looks like you have a visitor."

Mattie turned to where she pointed, to see Izabella waving at her excitedly from the other side of the training room's glass wall.

Mattie waved back and sighed. "God, I could use a shower though. Maybe I can ask her to wait."

She leaned heavily on Jill as she made her way towards the door. Once there, she maneuvered herself into a wheelchair gratefully. Jill wheeled her over to where Izabella was standing.

"Hey, Mattie!" the younger girl said excitedly. "You look really good!"

"Thanks, Izabella. I feel much better," Mattie smiled. Izabella's energy was infectious. "Did you come alone today?"

"No, Cade's parking the car." She waved her hand in the direction of the elevator. "He sent me ahead to see if it's a good time."

"It's fine," Mattie said. "It's just, I've just come off physical therapy and could do with a shower. Would you give me fifteen minutes?"

"Absolutely," Izabella said. "I'll wait here for Cade, and we'll come to your room after? Oh, and call me Izzy," she added. "Everyone else does."

Mattie nodded. "See you in a bit."

* * *

She was just gathering her hair into a ponytail when the knock came at the door. "Come in!" she called.

Cade entered the room, Izzy on his heels. "Hey, Mattie," he said, with a small smile. "Hope it's okay we came by today."

"Absolutely, I appreciate the company."

Cade sat down on a chair. "I've tried finding your family, and I haven't found them yet," he said without preamble. Then he held up a hand as if to stop her speaking. "But that's not because they're not there. I've put a request in to the military on this side, and they've relayed it to the military on that side, and that's how far it's come. I haven't heard anything back except the message to confirm that they got my message. But at least we've gotten that far."

"That's much further than I've gotten," Mattie said gratefully. "Thanks, Cade."

He nodded with an easy smile.

"So I saw you in physical therapy," Izabella gushed. "You're almost back on your feet, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Mattie nodded, grinning. "Jill – my physical therapist – says they'll let me go in a few days if I keep this up." Her face fell slightly. "Now I just have to figure out where to go."

"Are you going back to France?" Izzy asked.

Mattie shook her head. "There are no flights for civilians yet. And I don't know what I'd be going home to find." Her voice broke a little at that. "You see, I have no other family. Both my parents were only children, and all my grandparents are dead. If I came back to Brittany and found the house in ruins or something…" She drew a deep, shaky breath. "I'd rather stay here until I find my footing again, and hopefully find out if my parents and Jacques are okay. I just have to figure out where to go."

"Well," Cade said slowly, "I think we may be able to help you out there. You see, we live not that far north of where you lived, and just outside of our compound there is a little railway car that we've fixed up as a dwelling. You're welcome to it for as long as you need."

Mattie stared at him. "Seriously?"

He grinned, a little embarrassed. "Sure. We feel a little responsible for you, you know. Anyway, it's an offer, we'd understand if you don't want to. You don't know us very well, after all."

"No, but seriously? That would be absolutely fantastic!" Mattie exclaimed. "You're sure that's all right? You don't really know me either."

"Cade didn't know me either when he took me in," Izabella put in. "He let me stay three hours after he met me the first time."

Cade reached out and ruffled her hair. "Yeah, but you were impossible to get rid of, you little pain in the butt." There was real affection in his voice. "Plus, you were living in a warzone. Couldn't really send you back there, could I." He looked at Mattie. "Yes, seriously. It's yours for as long as you want. It's not much, but it's got a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, living space." His voice was gruff. "I have a daughter about your age. I'm lucky enough to know she's safe, but if she weren't, I'd hope someone would be able to do the same thing for her."

Mattie reached out and took his hand. "Thank you. Really. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."

He reddened slightly. "Sure, kid. No problem." He stood up. "If you girls would give me a moment, I'll go arrange things with your doctor." He walked out.

Izzy threw Mattie a secretive little grin. "Cade doesn't talk emotions much."

"I can tell," Mattie answered. Then she giggled. "He's really kind, though, isn't he? So he took you in too?"

"Yeah, me and Sqweeks," Izzy said. She noticed Mattie's questioning look. "He's my best friend. He's an Autobot too, but he's tiny, and he's been hurt. I'm fixing him up."

Mattie leaned back in the chair with a shudder. "I forgot that you guys were best buds with those… creatures."

Izzy eyed her quizzically. "Do they scare you?"

Mattie chuckled, a bit nervously. "Yeah."

"Why?" Izabella asked.

Mattie stared at her. "Don't they scare you?"

"They did, at first," Izzy said. "A Decepticon killed my family, you know. But there are good guys and bad guys among the Transformers too. I'm not scared of the good guys."

Mattie shuddered. "To me, they're all the same."

"Why, though?" Izzy repeated.

Mattie thought about it. "Have you seen that movie, War of the Worlds? You might be a bit young."

The younger girl nodded with a cheeky grin. "I've seen it."

"You know that scene when they're waiting for the ferry, and suddenly there are tripods coming down behind them? So they have to launch, but then there is one in the water as well?" She waited for the younger girl to nod. "Well, that's a bit how I feel when I see them. I see us as small, insignificant creatures that can be squished on their whim, and they probably won't even notice if they happen to crush us in the middle of their war."

Izzy stared at her. "Huh. No wonder you're a bit scared then, if that's how you feel when you see them."

Mattie shuddered. "I'm glad I never have. After seeing War of the Worlds in theater, I had nightmares for weeks. I think seeing one of _them_ in person would be even worse."

"But you have seen one," Izabella pointed out. "You've seen two, actually. Bumblebee and Hound."

"But I don't remember," Mattie said. "So that's okay."

Izabella just looked at her.

"So do they live there at the… compound? With you guys?" Mattie asked when the silence was beginning to get uncomfortable.

Izzy nodded. "Yeah. Five of them. Bumblebee, Crosshairs, Drift, Hound and Optimus Prime. He's their leader. And Sqweeks, but he's mine."

"Oh." Mattie plucked at her clothes.

"Don't worry," Izabella said, smiling at her. "The car's outside the compound, about a ten-minute walk. You won't know they're there. Besides," she said confidently, "I'm sure you'll stop being scared of them once you know them."

Mattie attempted a smile. "You're probably right." _Not a chance in_ _hell_.


	5. Chapter 5

Mattie stared. The view was incredible.

Cade had picked her up from hospital that morning, and they'd driven the long way down south with Izzy chatting happily in the back seat. Mattie had tuned out most of it, but she'd been able to infer that she was thrilled to finally have another girl around.

And then, late in the afternoon, they'd arrived here.

The railway car stood on a disused railway line, in a large field of grass. Just a stone's throw away was the ocean. Granted, it was also about sixty feet down, but the view was there even if she couldn't go swimming. The railway car itself was small, but very cleverly decorated, so it didn't seem small on the inside. After a quick tour, Cade and Izzy had left her alone to get settled. It didn't take very long – she only had two sets of clothes and her purse. _I need to go shopping. Tomorrow._

She still couldn't believe they'd been so nice to her. Cade had said he didn't want rent for the place either, so she could use her measly funds for food and other necessities. Cade still hadn't heard back from France, so she didn't know any more than she had two weeks ago, but at least she had a safe place to stay.

She looked north, towards the compound. It was an old disused airfield, with several hangars and maintenance buildings. Thankfully it was too far away for her to see anything more. She really didn't want to see movement – anything she could see from here was bound to be big. And she most especially did not want to see big.

* * *

The next day, she walked the path back to the gate in the fence, meaning to head in the direction of the nearest shopping mall. Cade had indicated that it was south of her new home, but he hadn't specified where. Just as she was debating whether or not to chance the walk, a yellow and black car slowed to a stop in the road next to her. The window was rolled down.

"Need a lift?" Cade's voice said.

Mattie smiled gratefully. "Sure, if you're going that way." She opened the door and got in.

"I'm headed into town to pick up some groceries and stuff, thought I could see if you wanted something," he replied. "I know we didn't exactly stock the cabinets in there."

"I love it, though," she grinned. "It's a perfect little house."

He smiled and put the car in gear.

The car's engine was a quiet purr, and the seats were comfy. She didn't know anything about cars, but this one seemed expensive. "Nice car," she commented. "What kind is it?"

Cade grinned. "Chevrolet Camaro, 2016 model."

"Cool," Mattie said. "Yours?"

"Nah," Cade said. "I'm just holding on to it for a friend for a while."

"I see," she said. Then she smiled. "I thought the color scheme seemed a bit bold for you."

He snorted. "Yeah, I'm more of a truck kind of guy. Though muscle cars have their uses. Where were you heading, anyway?"

"Wherever they sell food and clothing," she replied. "Preferably inexpensive. I'm short on everything after my apartment was flattened."

"I get that," Cade said. "I'll drop you off at the mall and then I can pick you up after, okay?"

"That would be great, thanks," Mattie nodded. She settled back in her seat. "This really is a nice car." She touched the leather door panels softly.

"He would be thrilled to hear you say that," Cade said.

Mattie shot him a look. "He?"

"Yeah," Cade said. "Will, my friend who owns it. He would be thrilled to hear you say that. It's his pride and joy."

"I can see why," Mattie said.

Shortly after, he dropped her off at a large concrete-and-glass structure. "Pick you up in a couple of hours, okay?"

She waved him off and watched as the flashy muscle car disappeared around the corner. Then she giggled to herself and entered the building.

* * *

Two hours later, she stood at the same spot, laden down with shopping bags. The mall was a gold mine – cheap clothing stores, a second-hand bookstore, even a music store. She didn't think she would need to make another trip for a while. She'd hit the grocery store last, picking up food for a couple of weeks _. If Cade doesn't pick me up, I don't know what I'll do. I can't carry all this stuff home._

But the Camaro appeared, just as he had promised. She opened the back door and put all her bags in with a grunt, before going to sit in the front passenger seat.

Cade grinned at her. "Do you want to try driving?"

She stared at him. "Oh, hell no. I'm a really crappy driver. I crash into things. I'm not taking a chance with someone else's car."

He sniggered. "Okay then." He headed back the way they had come. "Did you find everything you needed?"

"You know, I think I did," Mattie replied happily. "I know officially own more than two sets of clothes! There was even a music store with sheet music!" She turned and looked at her bags. "I got to pick up a few sets I haven't seen before."

"You into music?" Cade asked.

Mattie flashed him a grin. "Music's my thing. I am – I was – doing the first year of my BA in medieval music at the university. I had a whole shelf of music books." Her face crumbled a bit. "It's sad, but I don't think my guitar survived."

"Maybe you can get another one," Cade said. He shot her a sideways glance. "Didn't the music store sell guitars?"

Mattie nodded. "I just didn't have the heart to replace it yet. My mother had it custom-made for me, and it had this really sweet sound, I've never heard another guitar make quite that tone-quality. It's more like a lute, which I guess is why I love it so much." She sighed. "But now it's probably just splinters lying under twelve inches of rubble."

"I'm sorry," Cade said.

"Don't be," Mattie said with a small smile. "You got me out alive. I'm luckier than most."

The car engine roared as Cade pushed it a little harder down the highway. Sooner than she thought, they were back at her gate. Cade pulled over and killed the engine.

"I can't let you carry all that alone," he said in answer to her questioning look. "You'd need two trips." She giggled.

She walked him back to the gate after dropping off her stuff. "Thanks," she said, leaning on the gate. "It would have taken me forever to walk."

"No problem," he said. "I was taking the same trip anyway. Hey, by the way, Izzy wondered if she could come see you tomorrow."

Mattie nodded. "Yeah, absolutely. Tell her she can come whenever, I don't have any plans."

"Great." He grinned and got into the car. "I'll see you around!"

She waved at him as he sped off. Then she headed back across the field.

* * *

Cade looked out the rearview window at the slight figure making her way across the grass.

"You see, Bee?" he said. "She's doing fine."

"So it seems," Bumblebee replied through the radio. "Thanks for letting me/see her."

"No problem," Cade replied. "I know you've been worried."

"I hope she'll/stop being afraid/of us/in time," Bumblebee said.

"We can work on that," Cade said. "Izzy's got a plan."


	6. Chapter 6

Mattie opened the door at Izabella's knock. The younger girl wore an excited smile.

"So I brought someone to see you today," she announced. "I figured you were up to it now, since you've settled in and know us better."

Mattie looked around. She couldn't see anybody.

"He couldn't come all the way here with me," Izabella giggled. "He's not built for cross-country. We have to go back to the road, he's waiting for us there."

Mattie blanched. "No. Uh-uh, Izzy, you know I don't like them."

"Aw, come on, Mattie!" The younger girl pouted. "You've been here five days, you have to meet him sooner or later. He's my best friend."

Mattie shook her head mutely. Her grip on the doorframe tightened.

"But you said you're scared because they're big, right?" Izabella persisted. "Sqweeks isn't, he's tiny! He's smaller than me!" She took her friend's hand. "You can't be scared of someone smaller than me, can you? He's like a dog!"

"I'm allergic to dogs," Mattie said.

"Mattie, stop being such a wuss!" Izabella wailed, pulling at her hand. "You're what, five years older than me? And you're scared to go see a tiny robot! He can't hurt you! Heck, you could outrun him if you chose to, he can't even get past the fence. He's _disabled_! Now, come on!" With the last words, she gave an almighty tug on Mattie's arm. "Pleaaaase, Mattie!"

"Well, when you put it like that," Mattie said grudgingly. She held up a finger. "But I'm not going any closer to him than I choose to."

Izabella started bouncing up and down. "Yes! Brilliant! Okay! Now, come on!"

Mattie reluctantly let herself be towed towards the fence. She felt really nervous, but as Izabella had said, she could probably outrun him if she had to. And she sort of owed her and Cade to at least try to be open-minded.

Right outside the gate stood a sorry little heap of metal. He looked like most of the bits of a Vespa scooter, but stood on one leg and one wheel, and his helmet was dented and cracked. One arm was tiny, the other one longer, and two big lenses looked up as Izabella approached. He squeaked.

"Chihuahua?"

Mattie couldn't help it. She burst out in loud giggles.

Izabella turned and grinned at her. "See? I told you he wasn't scary."

"No, you're right," Mattie giggled. "Are you sure he's even a Transformer? He's so small! And cute."

Sqweeks bounced a little. Mattie let Izabella drag her through the gate.

"Yes, he is, he's an Autobot just like the others. He even helped save the world, didn't you, Sqweeks?"

The robot shambled towards her as fast as he could.

Mattie sat down on a rock and looked at him. He really was a sorry excuse for an alien. She smiled and held out a hand. "Hello, Sqweeks. I'm Mattie."

The Autobot turned towards her. "Chihuahua!"

Mattie giggled. "Is that all he says?"

Izzy nodded and stroked his head. "He was hurt in the war. So he can't transform anymore either, he's stuck like this. But I'm working on him."

The little Autobot limped closer to Mattie. Slowly, he stretched out his smallest hand and touched her fingers.

_I'm touching an alien. But he's so small, and weird. He's almost like a toy, really._

Izzy was watching her. "Are you scared?"

Mattie shook her head. "No, I'm not. You're right, he's not scary. Did he really help save the world?"

"Chihuahua!"

"He totally did," Izzy nodded earnestly. "Ask the other Autobots, they'll tell you. He blew up a major cannon so the big guys could get where they were supposed to go."

_The big guys?_ She withdrew her hand. "I don't think I want to meet the big ones, Izzy. Sqweeks is okay, but…"

Izzy grinned at her. "Don't worry, we'll do it in your time."

"Never?"

The younger girl laughed. "Oh no. You're one of us now, Mattie."

_That's what I was afraid of._

* * *

A week later, it was Cade standing outside of her door. He smiled. "Hey, Mattie. Came to see if you needed anything."

"Nah, I'm good, Cade, thanks. I took my bicycle to town yesterday." The thing was a second-hand find - old, worn, and painted neon green on top, but thanks to Izzy's mechanical skills, it ran like new. Plus, it had a basket in front and two behind, so she could carry everything she wanted.

"Okay then." He drew a deep breath. "Then I have a favor to ask you. Will you come outside for a few moments?"

Suddenly nervous, she did as he asked. "What is it, Cade?"

"Well, there's someone who really wants to meet you. Officially meet you, I should say – you've met before, though you don't remember."

_Oh no. Oh, hell no._

Cade pointed northwards. "Bumblebee wonders if you'd talk to him."

She looked where he pointed. There was a giant robot visible in the distance.

Suddenly she was scrambling backwards towards her house, hyperventilating. If Cade hadn't had a firm grip on her arm, she would have bolted.

"Hey, hey, hey, easy," Cade murmured. "He's not going to harm you, far from it. And he's not going to come any closer, we're going to go to him."

Mattie shook her head sharply. "No. No, uh-uh, I'm not going there. No way."

Cade still held on to her arm. In the distance, the giant robot sat down.

"Please, Mattie. Bumblebee saved you that night. He has this picture in his mind of you with so much blood in your hair that he couldn't even tell what color it was, and legs dangling uselessly. He needs to talk to you, to see that you're okay. Please."

Mattie trembled. "I'm terrified of them, Cade."

"I know," he said. "I can tell. But you're scared needlessly. You've been hanging out with Sqweeks all week, he's okay, right? Bumblebee's the same, just bigger."

Mattie shook her head again. "You're not going to tell me that that – thing – is the same as that little toy robot."

Cade grabbed her shoulders and stared into her eyes. "Listen to me. He is not going to hurt you. He wouldn't dream of it. He fights to protect humans. I promise you that you're safe. Just please, please, walk over there with me. He desperately needs to see that you're okay."

She drew a long, shaky breath. Then she took his hand. "You promise?"

He nodded. "I promise." Slowly, he started walking towards the giant figure in the distance. All the while, he talked to her as if he was calming a skittish horse.

"That's it. One leg first, then the other. It's not far now. He's not going to hurt you. You're safe. That's my brave girl. Come on Mattie, you can do this."

She looked up at the robot looming in front of them. "How.." she wet her lips and tried again. "How big is he?"

"Bee's about seventeen feet, I think. He's sitting down to make it less scary for you."

They were close enough now that she could see the details. The robot was mostly yellow, with some black here and there, and bright blue eyes. He was looking at her.

Suddenly she stopped and stared accusingly at Cade. "That's the Camaro."

He grinned, a little guiltily. "Yeah, it is. That's his alt mode, what he transforms into."

She turned on her heel. "Then he's already seen me and there's no need for me to do this."

Cade grabbed hold of her arm again. "No, Mattie, please. He wants to talk to you himself. You've come this far. Please."

Mattie stood still for a moment. _He's right. I've come this far._

She drew a deep breath. Then she let him lead her on.

Soon, they were standing at the Autobot's feet. Mattie was clinging to Cade's arm for dear life, and struggling to control her breathing.

"Relax, honey. You're safe, I promise. You've done good to get this far."

Cade looked up at the robot. "Thanks for waiting, Bee. This is Mattie. Mattie, this is Bumblebee."

The blue eyes focused on her. "Hi, Mattie," the Autobot said gently. "Don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you."

Her knees buckled and she dropped to the ground. Cade sat down next to her and put an arm around her.

Shakily, she found her voice. "H-hello."

Slowly, carefully, Bumblebee stretched one hand towards them, palm down. He held it a foot or so away from where they were sitting. "I'm so glad to see you're okay. I mean, I can tell you're terrified now, but you're walking again. You're healed." His voice was full of wonder. "I was so afraid for you."

She looked up at his face cautiously. "Y-you were?"

Cade nodded. "Bee was the one who sent me to the hospital to see you. He worried a lot."

S-so," Mattie whispered. She looked from Cade to the Autobot and back. "So he's the one who set this up."

Cade nodded. "Yeah."

The Autobot hadn't moved. He was still sitting with his hand outstretched, looking at her. Slowly, shakily, she got back up on her feet. Then she inched closer to the outstretched hand. She pulled Cade along with her – it was good to have someone to hold on to, her knees still threatened to fold and she was fighting the impulse to run.

Nervously, she laid her hand against one of the giant metal fingers. "Hello, Bumblebee," she said, looking at the Autobot. "Thanks for saving my life."

The big figure's face split into a huge grin. "You're welcome. Thanks for coming out to see me, I know it was hard."

Mattie nodded, then she turned to Cade. "Can I go back now?"

Cade nodded, then looked at Bee. "She did really good."

"Yeah." The Autobot was still smiling. "Hey, Mattie?"

She turned towards him again. "Yeah?"

"Can I come see you again soon?"

She thought about it. Then she nodded.

"Cool," he said. "Thanks."

She glanced back at him a few times as they walked back to the rail car. He was still sitting there, looking at them.


	7. Chapter 7

"So what do you call it then?" Mattie asked.

"A servo," Bumblebee replied, smiling.

Mattie shook her head in confusion. "I don't get it. You learn English, but you keep your own names for things. Servos, optics, optic ridges, faceplates…" She looked up at him. "Where did you learn English anyway?"

He grinned cheekily. "We downloaded it off the internet."

Mattie chuckled. "I guess that's efficient."

They were sitting crosslegged facing each other on the cliff near Mattie's house. This was Bumblebee's fourth visit, and today Mattie had felt comfortable enough around him to let Izabella into the house to make lunch.

"So why cars?" Mattie said.

"Because there are many of them here," Bumblebee said, shrugging. "And they're easy for us to adapt to."

"I guess I get that. Do you all turn into cars?"

He nodded. "Mostly. Cars or vehicles in some form or other. Or at least the Autobots do."

Mattie frowned. "So what do the – Decepticons?- turn into?"

"Anything mechanic. Jets, tanks, cars, computers, telephones, satellites…"

She looked at him. "That seems more versatile. Why don't you all do that?"

He frowned for a moment. "Cars are more inconspicuous."

"Not if everyone chooses them the way you do," Mattie commented.

He grinned. "Thanks. I think. There's a whole lot more to it than that, but you'd have to talk to Optimus to get the full story." He looked at her. "Did you have more questions, or can I have a turn?"

She nodded. "Shoot."

"Let's see. Why are you here and your family in France?"

She shrugged. "Short version? My mother's American, my father's French. The deal was that if I did my Baccalauréat in France, I could do my Bachelor's degree in America."

He looked at her. "There's a long version?"

"There's always a long version."

He seemed to sense that she didn't want to go into that. "Fair enough. So you're studying music?"

She grinned. "You remember from the time Cade and you picked me up? Yeah, I study music, with focus on the medieval song tradition."

"You have something in common with Cade's mate, then. She is a professor in history."

"Yeah, Cade told me that. Viviane, right?" Mattie smiled. "I hope I get to meet her."

Suddenly, Bumblebee turned, looking away from her. After a moment, Mattie heard the sound of an engine coming closer.

Bumblebee stood up. "That's Cade," he called down to her. He stretched out and knocked on the wall of the train car. "Izzy, come out for a sec."

Izabella poked her head out the door. "What's going on?"

Mattie shrugged. "Apparently, Cade's coming."

Bumblebee nodded. "Yes. In Crosshairs." He looked at Izzy. "I thought Mattie might need you outside.

_Oh no. Another Autobot._

In the distance, she could make out a lime-green racing car. She drew a sigh of relief. "That's Crosshairs? He doesn't look built for offroading," she said hopefully. "Maybe he can't come in."

"He can't come in in that form," Bumblebee said quietly. Mattie flinched and took an involuntary step backward.

"And he won't come if Mattie doesn't want him to, will he, Bumblebee," Izabella said firmly. She grabbed hold of Mattie's hand. "He'll stay right there by that gate."

It looked like Cade had thought about that too, because he left the green alien car outside and came loping across the field alone. Mattie let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"Mattie!" Cade called when he was still some distance away. "I've got great news! We found your family, and they're all good!"

She didn't realize she'd fallen until a large metal hand caught her gently and eased her to the ground. Her head was spinning.

_They live._

Cade had made it all the way over to them, talking excitedly, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Her ears were ringing.

"Give her a minute, Cade," Bumblebee said, grinning. _Now why can I hear him and not Cade?_

A small hand pushed a glass of water into her hand, and she drank eagerly.

"They live?" she whispered. "They really live?" And then the tears started rolling down her face.

Cade grinned down at her. "They really live, honey. They're all good."

_They live._

* * *

"So apparently," Cade said, "they went east to some town or other, I can't remember the name of it –"

"Huelgoat, I'd bet," Mattie said. "It's just east of the cottage."

"That may have been it," Cade said. "The way you guys pronounce it, I honestly can't tell."

Cade had been in to find Mattie a chair, and now she was sitting in front of her house listening intently to Cade. They'd eaten lunch – well, she had mostly picked at hers – and now she was cradling a cup of hot chocolate with a touch of brandy in it, though she had no idea where the brandy had come from.

"Anyway," Cade continued, "the army over there had everybody organized into large camps by region for a while, while the infrastructure was being rebuilt. So they stayed there for a few weeks, and now they're heading back home. They've been issued a satellite phone, so they can stay in touch with us if they need to."

Mattie teared up again. "I can talk to them?"

"Sure," Cade said with an easy smile. "I told them we would call at around ten local time, so why don't I come pick you up in a couple of hours?"

"I can take her," Bumblebee offered. "I thought I would hang around a bit longer." He noticed Mattie looking at him. "If that's okay."

Mattie grinned. "Sure. Bring Crosshairs and everyone, we can have a party!" She raised her cup. "I bet you can drum up some more alcohol."

"You don't mean that," Cade chuckled.

She shook her head. _Man, I'm all giddy_. "No, probably not. I'm just so happy I feel like I could float away. I've been trying so hard not to think of it, you know? But I've been imagining my parents dead under that thing in the sky, my baby brother –" her voice caught "-getting trapped as I was in the debris, except no one's coming to rescue _him_." The tears started falling again as she spoke. "I've had these pictures in my head, all of them dead, of the cottage destroyed with them in it, or of my parents dead and Jacques alone, and what he would do all by himself, and why I wasn't there with them. I should have been there with them." By the end, she was sobbing.

Cade took the cup from her unresisting hands. Then he pulled her into his arms.

"I know, honey. I know exactly what you mean. It's the worst feeling in the world, being so far away when disaster hits, and not being able to do anything about it. But that's over. They're fine, they weren't hurt. You can let all those bad images go, because they never happened." He rocked her gently.

She sat back and wiped her eyes. "I've been so scared. I've been crying myself to sleep every night." Her voice was still shaky.

Izabella leant forward and took one of her hands. "So how old is your brother?"

"He's a bit younger than you, he just turned fourteen," Mattie said, accepting the cup back from Cade. "But you and he are very different. He's really intelligent, but he doesn't know how to use things like the stove or washing machine, and he spends all his time with his nose in a book." She grinned weakly. "He wouldn't know how to survive."

"I thought he was younger, the way you talk about him," Izzy said.

Mattie shook her head with a small smile. "I was about seven when he was born. So he's always been a baby to me." She looked at Cade. "Thanks so much, Cade. I don't even know what to say."

"Believe me, it was my pleasure." He stood. "Thanks for lunch."

"Can I hitchhike back with you and Crosshairs?" Izzy said. "I promised Sqweeks I'd work on his leg some more."

Cade looked from Izabella to Mattie. "Sure, but… Mattie, are you good here by yourself?"

Mattie nodded. She felt more than saw the giant Autobot's eyes on her. "Sure. Bumblebee, you'll stay here for a bit, right?"

The yellow figure nodded. "I can take her over to the compound later," he offered.

Cade nodded, then looked at her. "You know, the compound has more Autobots. I can ask them to stay out of sight, but…"

Mattie shook her head. _Shoot, I've already lived through the worst, haven't I_. Suddenly she stood up, placing her cup on the ground. "Heck, I'm feeling brave. Let's go meet Crosshairs. Then at least there's one familiar face there later."

Bumblebee grinned hugely at her.

* * *

Bumblebee stood in the main hangar, listening to Mattie speaking quickly on the phone in a language he thought must be French, every now and then stopping to wipe the tears from her cheeks. They hadn't stopped falling since she picked up the phone, but she was smiling.

*It's good to see her happy,* Drift said. *I remember how she looked when you brought her to the hospital. I thought her human body was broken. They're so easy to break.*

*So did I,* Bumblebee replied. *And we were almost too late to save her.*

*She's still terrified of us,* Drift noted. *I can sense her heartbeat spike every time she looks at us. Well, except you.*

*She knows me better,* Bumblebee said. *But she's still scared. Still, this is nothing. The first day I went to see her…*

*Yes, I know,* the red and black Autobot said with sympathy. *Poor human.* He looked at Bumblebee, his optic ridges raised. *Why do you bother, though? She is, after all, only a human. And we already have some of those around.*

*I… don't know,* Bumblebee said slowly. *I guess I don't like the idea of her being scared of me. It's not necessary.*

*Well, I don't understand,* Drift said.

*Bumblebee is acting in the correct manner,* a deep voice said behind them. They turned towards Optimus Prime. *We should always endeavor to ease the humans' fear towards us. It will make it easier for them to cooperate with and trust us.*

*Yes, Optimus.* Drift bowed his head, then straightened again. *Still, I do not see the use of this one. The others, I understand – it is always good to fight with allies, and have those around that can repair what is damaged. But this one is not a fighter nor a mechanic." His optic ridges furrowed. *I do not think she has a skill set that is of use to us.*

*Are you saying, then, my friend,* Optimus asked quietly, *that we must only be kind to those who are of use to us? That those who do not fight with us are not worthy of our help?*

Drift bowed again, from the waist this time. *Forgive me, Prime. I meant no disrespect.* He turned and looked towards Mattie. *But this is still the case; we are fighting a war. Is there room for one such as she? What good can she do?*

*Perhaps she is here to remind us why we are fighting,* Bumblebee said softly.

Optimus put a hand on his lieutenant's shoulder. *That, my trusted friend, I believe is the heart of it.*

Suddenly, Mattie turned towards them. She flinched when she saw the other two Autobots, then looked at Bumblebee. "Um. Bumblebee?" She held out the tiny device she was using. "My mother wonders if she may talk to you."

Colonel Lennox sauntered over from where he had bee standing with Cade along the wall. "Hang on. Kneel down, Bee, I'll put her on speaker."

Bumblebee knelt. _What does this human's parent want with me?_

Cade pushed a button, then nodded at him.

"This is Autobot Bumblebee speaking," he said. _How does one talk to human parental units?_

"Hello, Bumblebee," a woman's voice said, slightly distorted from the less-than-excellent signal. "My name is Chloé Warrenton St.Édain. I understand that my husband and I have you to thank for our daughter's life." Her voice broke a little towards the end. _It might have been the signal, but I don't think it was._

"It was the least I could do, ma'am," he said, adopting Lennox' style of addressing females. "I am just glad that we found someone who could actually be helped."

"Well, it's a big thing for us," the voice said. "I can't tell you enough how grateful we are. I've been worried sick. With her so far away, I'm glad to know that she has someone looking out for her."

"Always, ma'am." _Now why did I say that?_ "As long as she needs me to."

Mattie flashed him a grin, and held her hand out for the phone.

"Your daughter wishes to talk to you again," Bumblebee said.

"Okay then, put her on," the voice said. "Thank you for speaking with me, Bumblebee."

"Of course, ma'am. It was my pleasure."

He straightened as Mattie took the phone again. "Hi, mom. Yes, that was an real, honest-to-God alien. Yes, the really big robots. No, I'm not scared of him – at least not any more. These are the good guys. What? I think that is his actual name, mom. No, I don't think he's…" She wandered off with the phone device, and Bumblebee stopped listening. _My actual name? What?_

Cade looked at him and shrugged.


	8. Chapter 8

Mattie walked cautiously into the compound. She thought she'd found the right gate – it was hard to remember, she hadn't been paying attention when Bumblebee had brought her here last time.

_If I get lost, I'm never coming back again._

But no, there in the distance she could see the building they'd been in, where she'd finally been able to talk to her parents again. It was a low, wide, dusty grey structure with large open gaps here and there. She headed for it purposefully, trying to ignore the fact that her entire body was trembling and her breathing was nowhere near normal.

_These are the good guys. These are the good guys._ She took a deep breath and tried to steady herself.

When she entered the hangar, it seemed empty. "H-Hello?" she called timidly. "Is there anybody here?"

To the far back, a shadow suddenly ceased looking like a car and unfolded, until it stood tall enough to almost touch the ceiling. Mattie panicked and backed up against the door.

"Easy, little lady," the big figure said. "Didn't mean to scare ya. Old Hound don't mean you no harm."

Mattie drew a shaky breath and tried to calm herself. _It's Hound. He's okay. He helped save you, remember? You're fine._

"I-I came to talk to C-Cade," she managed to get out. "D-didn't mean to bother you."

"It's no bother," the large Autobot replied with a small smile. "I was just taking a stasis nap. Cade's down in the workshop. Three buildings down, left-hand side."

"T-thanks." She managed an unsteady smile and backed out the door. She thought she heard him chuckle as she left.

_Three buildings down, three buildings down… Oh._

"H-Hi, Crosshairs."

The tall, green robot turned towards her. "Hello, Mattie. Well done, coming down here on your own!"

"T-Thanks. I-is Cade here?"

The Autobot pointed, and Mattie hurried past him.

She found Cade in the third building, just as Hound had said. He was welding something big onto something even bigger – after a moment, she realized he was working on a piece of someone's arm, and that that someone was sitting on the floor behind him.

"Um. Cade?" she called. He turned his blowtorch off, pushed his mask up and stared. Then he seemed to take a mental hold of himself.

"Mattie! Give me a moment, I just need to finish up here." He put his mask back on, bending over his work again.

Mattie nodded, and smiled tentatively up at the figure sitting behind him. "Hello, Drift."

The big Autobot nodded at her.

The blowtorch was turned off again. "There, that should do it," Cade said, pushing the mask back up. "Don't extend until that's cooled, Drift."

"Thank you." The dark robot stood up.

Cade wiped his hands on a rag and walked towards her. "You know, I never expected you to come down here on your own. I'm really proud of you."

She grinned. "Have to face my fears, right?"

He chuckled. "So how can I help you?"

She looked down. "Well, I've been thinking, after I talked to my parents last week. They wondered if I wanted to come back to France."

"Okay. I guess I see their point of view." He put a finger under her chin and tilted her head back up so she was looking at him. "So what are you thinking?"

She looked up at him. "I don't want to leave. I know I can't really go back to my degree, the university is in shambles, and my apartment isn't there anymore, so I don't really have a reason to stay, but…"

He grinned. "I get it."

"And, you know, I know I don't have the money to pay rent, and I know I probably can't be of use to you guys-" she heard Drift chuckle behind them at that "- I can maybe tutor Izabella or something, that's about it. But I really, really want to stay here even so."

Cade laughed. "Mattie, no one's going to kick you out. That railway car was fixed up for you. You get to stay there as long as you want." He put an arm around her shoulder and walked her out of the building. "Regardless of whether you're useful or not, or whether or not you pay rent. Yo, Bee!"

Bumblebee walked around the corner. He grinned when he saw her. "Mattie! What are you doing here?"

_He's strangely graceful for a twenty-foot robot_.

"Mattie has decided not to go back to France after all!" Cade said, grinning. "So she came down here on her own to ask to stay."

"Well, of course you can stay," Bumblebee said, sounding a little confused. "I thought we'd already agreed on that." His face split in a huge grin. "Did you really come down here all by yourself?"

Mattie smiled a little at the look he gave her. _Now, why does that give me butterflies?_ "I did."

"That's awesome!"

"Now, you should tell your parents, though," Cade said. "It's too late to call them today, but you should definitely do so as soon as possible."

"Hey, you want the grand tour?" Bumblebee said. "I didn't get to show you around last time." He transformed down into the Camaro and opened the door for her. "Please?"

Mattie grinned. _Well done you, he transformed in front of you and you're still on your feet!_ "Absolutely."

* * *

"Come on, Drift, place a stone already!"

*What are you waiting for, sensei?*

"Be quiet, you two, I'm trying to think," Drift grumbled. Izabella giggled.

Mattie stood still, smirking up at him. "Are you stuck?"

"No, I'm not," he snapped. "I just don't want to lose for the twelfth time in a row."

They stood on either side of the giant checkerboard – well, giant for her – that Mattie had painted up on the ground outside the main hangar a few days back. Drift was holding one of the big white pieces, his optic ridges furrowed. He'd been contemplating its placing for the last ten minutes.

"C'mon, Drift," she coaxed. "Just place it somewhere. You've already lost, you just don't see it yet."

"No, I do see it," he countered, sounding frustrated. "I've gotten that good at least. I just don't want to believe it." He studied the board for a few more moments. "Slag it. You're right, human. I admit defeat." He threw the white piece down in disgust.

Bumblebee came walking around the corner. He'd been out on patrol when Mattie arrived that morning, and he looked just like he'd been out all night – he was covered in dust and grime, and he moved tiredly. When he saw her, she flashed him a smile, and he brightened.

_Stop reacting like that, dumb girl_ , she thought, trying to get rid of the butterflies. _He's an alien robot, for Chrissake._

"Hey, you're playing! Whose turn is it after Drift?"

"Nobody's," the Hound said with a chuckle. "Mattie's already pummeled me today. I just stayed around for the entertainment."

Bumblebee sat down on the other end of the board. "Well, I want a turn."

Mattie looked up at him critically. "You sure, Bee? You look like you should be off your feet."

He looked at her, and then down at himself. "I am off my feet."

She giggled. "You know what I mean. You look like you could use a rest."

"Aw, c'mon. One game, and then I'll recharge. Please? With all these night shifts Optimus has me running, I hardly ever see you."

"You do see me every day, Bee," she pointed out, still grinning.

"Please? I promise I'll go recharge afterwards?" He tilted his head slightly.

Mattie threw up her hands and laughed. "Oh, okay then. I can never resist you when you ask nicely."

Playing against Bumblebee was by far the most fun. All the Autobots had learned the game by now, with the help of her and Izabella, and they each had different playing styles. Crosshairs was fast and aggressive, Optimus calculating and sometimes overly defensive, Hound was careful up until the end, then he went all out, and Drift was methodical and guarded. Bumblebee played easily and recklessly, taking gambles where some of the others would have held back, often sneaking a victory where the others would have lost. He also seemed to enjoy the game no matter how it went, winning and losing with the same easy smile. He was her favorite opponent.

_Of course, it could also be because you really like him,_ she thought _. Although that's nowhere near healthy and you'll never admit that._

After a few moves, she could tell he was tired, and the game ended much faster than usual.

"Sorry, Mattie. I guess I'm more tired than I realize."

She got up and walked around the board, laying a hand on his arm. "Go get some recharge," she said gently. He leaned into her hand for a split second, very carefully. Then he stood up.

"Actually, you mind coming with me for a bit? I have something I wanted to ask you," he said, holding down a hand.

She eyed it doubtfully. "You sure you're up to carrying me? You're exhausted."

Bumblebee chuckled and picked her up gently, placing her on his shoulder. "You're light as a feather."

He carried her down past the main hangar to one of the smaller ones, the one he and Hound shared.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked.

Instead of answering, he simply leaned his head against her for a few moments. Then he straightened. "Sorry. I'm really tired." He glanced sideways at her. "You know, I can't believe how comfortable you've gotten around us. Nothing seems to faze you anymore."

"Those Dinobots might," Mattie said with a small smile. She hadn't quite believed that one at first, but then she'd heard the roaring for herself. She had absolutely refused to go see them.

Bumblebee swayed on his feet. "Seriously, Bee, sit down before you fall on me."

He lay down on a flat pallet along one wall. "That's better. Hey, don't leave yet."

She sat down next to his head. "Do you still want to talk to me?"

"Yeah, it's just a small thing," he murmured, optics dimming. Then they brightened again. "I talked to your mother the other day. She called to inform us that your birthday is not that far off."

Mattie nodded. "Yeah, it's April 27th. Two weeks from now."

"I wondered if it was okay if we celebrated? I know not all humans like that."

She smiled. "I'm not them. I love being spoiled rotten on my birthday."

He grinned sleepily. "Then that's settled."

She looked at him as his optics dimmed. _Sure, he's a big alien robot. But he looks like a little kid when he's sleeping._ Tentatively, she stretched out a hand towards his face, stopping before she actually touched him.

"Mattie?" he murmured.

"Still right here, Bee."

"Sing for me?"

She smiled. "Are you going to record it again?

"I always do," he mumbled. "Then I can listen to you whenever I like."

"Sure, Bee." Then she did touch his face. He made a deep rumbling sound and smiled contentedly.

She sang a few verses of _Not while I'm around_ while his optics dimmed, then stood up quietly. "Sleep now, Bumblebee," she whispered. "I'll see you when you wake up."

_I'm in so much trouble._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mattie sings Not when I'm around from Sweeney Todd.


	9. Chapter 9

"Happy birthday, sweetheart!"  
Mattie grinned. "Thanks, mom!"  
"Have you had a good day so far? You know, I haven't the faintest idea what time it is over there right now?" Her mother laughed. "I've been spending so much time redecorating that I've lost track."  
"It's about lunchtime, and yeah, it's been great! Izzy surprised me with breakfast this morning, and Viviane made lunch, and apparently we're having a bonfire tonight, if it's not raining."  
Viviane had arrived the night before in the rain, dripping wet, after the cab she'd been in had broken down halfway from the airport and Cade had had to pick her up with Hound. But she'd still been in a good mood, and after a few moments Mattie had decided that she really did like Viviane – the older woman was brainy, and witty, and treated Mattie as a little sister.  
"It sounds like they're taking good care of you. Hey, did you get our present?"  
Mattie nodded. "Yeah, mom, you shouldn't have, it's way too much! You need that to get the house and stables back in business."  
"Nonsense," her mother said briskly. "We wanted to spoil our daughter, and since you're too far away for me to buy you new things you'll just have to do that for yourself. The least we can do is see you have the funds for it."  
"I already spent some of it," Mattie confessed. "I bought a new dress for the party tonight." Izabella had gone with her, helping her choose, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the right times. It had been fun.  
"That sounds like a very clever idea," her mother said. Mattie could hear the smile in her voice. "You should wear something nicer than jeans and a shirt for your own birthday party."  
Mattie grinned. Her mother had tried to get her out of her trademark jeans and various shirts since she was fifteen.  
"Well, have a great rest of the day," her mother said. "Tell Bumblebee I said hello. Your father will call you tomorrow, okay?"  
"Sure. Love you, mom!"  
"Love you too, baby girl."  
Mattie reached her hand out and placed the phone back in Cade's waiting hand.  
He grinned at her. "So now you need to make yourself scarce."  
She stared at him, confused. "I do?"  
Izzy nodded energetically. "We can't have a surprise party because you already know about it, but we can make sure you're surprised when you get here even so!"  
Mattie laughed. "So what am I supposed to do? Hang around the house until tonight?"  
"No," a familiar voice said behind her. "I'm kidnapping you."  
Mattie turned around to see Bumblebee's cheeky grin, high above her. A whole afternoon alone with Bumblebee? As if that was their cue, suddenly her stomach was full of butterflies again.  
"Well, you look very pleased with yourself," she scolded, then grinned. "Okay then, where are we going?"  
He grinned. "It's a surprise." The he transformed down into the familiar Camaro, and opened the door for her. "Come on/birthday girl."  
"Wait!" Viviane ran up to Bee, and placed a basket in the back seat. "For later." She smiled mysteriously at Mattie. "Enjoy your day, sweetheart."  
"Thanks. I think." She got in Bee's front seat, and he fastened the seat belt around her. Then he took off, tires squealing, and raced out of the compound.  
When they came to the highway, he headed north, as always a bit faster than the legal limit. Mattie touched the wheel gently. "Where are we actually going, Bee?"  
"I'm taking you/to the movies!" he said proudly. He was using his radio to communicate again – he seemed to prefer that when in alt mode. "I found a/drive-in theatre!"  
Mattie giggled. "That's excellent! I've never been to a drive-in. What are we watching?" She looked down at him. "Can you even see it in this form? You can't really go bipedal in there, can you?"  
He laughed. "I can see/well enough. If not/how could I drive? And we're watching/some form of/superhero film/about someone who's been/bitten by a spider. If I understood/Izzy/correctly."  
"We're watching Spider-Man?" Her voice shot over two octaves and she started bouncing in the seat. "I love Spider-Man! Bee, can I have popcorn?"  
"Anything for you/birthday girl," he chuckled. "Absolutely anything."  
Mattie leaned down and kissed the Autobot symbol on the steering wheel. "Thanks!"  
She spent the rest of the drive up to the theatre chattering excitedly about the merits of Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man over Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man, how faithful each version was to the comics, which other characters would show up, and other things that she was sure Bumblebee knew absolutely nothing about, but she couldn't stop herself.  
"…and the Lizard shows up in the X-Men too, did you know that? The comics, I mean. But of course, he's mostly a Spider-Man villain. I think he was really cool in the film, much cooler than I feared he would be, you know? I mean, they totally botched Venom, the only saving point that movie even had was the major fight scene at the end."  
Bumblebee laughed. "Mattie/I'm glad you're/so excited,/but I haven't got the faintest idea what you're talking about."  
"I know," Mattie smiled and blushed slightly. "Sorry, Bumblebee."  
"Don't be." She could hear the smile in his voice. "I don't mind."

The drive-in turned out to be an older structure surrounding a brand-new screen and new electronics.  
"Bet it got hit by Cybertron, and they had to replace things," Mattie said, looking around. "This is so cool." She got her popcorn and soda, and placed them carefully in the passenger seat. "That okay, Bee?"  
"Sure," he said. "Make yourself comfortable. Oh, and/get the basket/from the back seat."  
Mattie reached behind her and pulled the basket to her. It contained a blanket, some food, and a large piece of chocolate cake. She giggled. "This is really nice, but I can't eat this in here. What if I spill on you?"  
"Then you'll have to/wash/me afterwards," Bee said smugly. Mattie laughed.

"…. And how great was it, that he's such a baby face, you know? I know the actor's my age, but he looks so much younger. And when he was hanging from the ceiling, and his friend was there? Totally epic comedy. Oh, and I'm so sorry about the popcorn. I can wash you before the party?"  
Bumblebee laughed. "Don't worry/birthday girl. We'll hit/a car wash/on our way back/or I can/hit the woods and/shake most of it off."  
Mattie shook her head. "No, let me. It was my fault. And we still have time before I have to go home and change."  
"You're changing?"  
"Yeah, I bought a new dress," Mattie giggled. "Bet that'll be a surprise for everyone, no one here has actually seen me in anything but jeans."  
Bumblebee chuckled.  
Mattie stretched her hand out and hesitantly stroked the door panel. "Hey, thanks for today, Bee," she said, leaning her head against the window. "I had a really good time."  
"Me too/birthday girl," he replied.

She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she registered was that Bumblebee stopped outside her house. She looked around groggily.  
"Well, damn! Did I sleep all the way here? What time is it?" She got out of the car, gathering the rest of the popcorn into the basket and bringing it with her.  
Behind her, Bumblebee transformed. Small, pale dots rained off him. "Ugh, I'm covered in popcorn."  
Mattie cringed. "I'm truly sorry about that. I'll get you cleaned up." She turned and looked up at him. "If we have time, that is?"  
"Yeah, we still have a couple of hours or so before we should be back," he said. Noticing her look, he smirked. "I may have gone a bit faster than strictly legal."  
Mattie grinned and shook her head. "Speed-crazy Autobot." He chuckled behind her.  
Bumblebee sat perfectly still while Mattie used a brush to get most of the popcorn off.  
"There. I think I got the lot of them."  
Bumblebee looked down, examining his arms. "Hey, thanks, Mattie."  
"The least I could do. I was the one who spattered you with popcorn." She put away the brush. "Now I'm going to go take a shower. Are you going to wait out here?"  
He nodded. "You bet."  
"Great." She flashed him a smile and disappeared inside.

From his perch outside the rail car, Bumblebee could hear Mattie singing in the shower. Carefully, he snuck closer.  
It wasn't one he had heard before, so he started recording. She was singing something about finding serenity. It was apparently a short song, because quite soon she was singing something completely different about trying to get some bricks down from the fourteenth floor and ending up falling down instead. That one was much longer, and he could hear her turning off the shower and started moving around, still singing. He turned the recording off and moved back to his original position. I don't want her to think I'm spying on her in the shower. Anyway, I'm just listening.  
/*Bumblebee?* His internal comm link activated.  
/*Yes, Drift?*  
/*Cade wants to know if you're back with the human yet.*  
/*Yes, I'm waiting for her to get changed. I'll bring her over to you within an hour.*  
/*Good.* The comm link shut down again.  
Mattie opened the door and walked out, wearing similar garments to the ones she had had on earlier.  
"I thought you were going to put on a dress," he said, confused.  
"Aw, are you disappointed?" She grinned cheekily at him. "I'm changing soon, I just have to get my hair under control first."  
His optics focused on her hair. It was dark and curly, and it hung down to the middle of her shoulder blades normally. Now, being damp, it was much longer, and pointed in all directions.  
"Is it being unruly?"  
"Yes, it's being extremely unruly. It always is when I've washed it."  
She started pulling a comb through the tangled mess that was her hair, with slow, easy strokes. Bumblebee watched, a little mesmerized.  
She noticed, and gave him a small smile. "You're lucky you don't have hair," she commented.  
He didn't know what to say to that.  
After exactly fifty-seven brush strokes, the shook her head, making her hair fly around her head. It settled on her shoulders and down her back. It looks so soft. I wonder what it feels like to touch it.  
"There." She grinned. "I'll be out in a few minutes."  
She came out exactly 698 seconds later, wearing a white dress that clung to her figure down to her hips, then flared out, and ended right below her knees. Her hair was still loose, a nice change from the braid or ponytail she usually wore, and hung in gentle ringlets down past her shoulders. The dress had laces up the front and short white sleeves.  
Primus, she looks amazing. "Um. You should bring a coat or something. It might get chilly." He transformed down and opened his door for her. She got in, careful of her dress, and settled back in the seat. He gently put the seat belt around her. She smells really nice too.  
"Ready to go to/your birthday party?" he asked.  
She nodded. "Let's go, Bee."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mattie's music: The ballad of Serenity. The sick note (Dubliners).


	10. Chapter 10

Izzy leaned back towards Hound's leg and yawned. "Whew, I'm stuffed," she groaned. "I don't think I can move anymore. Hound, you'll have to carry me back to my bed tonight." She threw out her arms dramatically.

Hound chuckled. "I didn't think a medium-sized human could eat that much."

"Well, chocolate cake's my favorite."

Mattie smiled. They were all gathered around the bonfire that Cade had lit on the cliff outside the compound, where the ground was rock instead of grass. Mattie had pride of place, sitting on a blanket-covered log with her back to the ocean. It was getting close to midnight.

"So are you ready for your birthday present?" Bumblebee asked eagerly.

Mattie turned towards the large yellow mech sitting on her right. "My present? I thought this party was my present."

Cade chuckled. "No, we got you something. Actually, Bee's been the brain behind it, but we all chipped in. You should go get it, Bee."

Bumblebee grinned, then stood up and walked away from the party. After a few minutes, he came back, carrying a parcel.

"Happy birthday, Mattie," he said softly. She felt her heart skip a beat as she looked up at him. _Get a hold of yourself, girl._

"Thanks," she whispered, taking the parcel. She realized it was actually quite big. Carefully, she untied the string, and slipped off the brown paper wrapping.

Inside was a guitar case. She grinned. "Oh, you didn't."

Izzy giggled. "Open it."

Carefully, she undid the clasps and opened the case. Her eyes immediately filled with tears.

"Johnnie," she choked. _It is, it's really Johnnie._

Inside the case lay the custom-built guitar that she had brought to the States with her, the curve-backed, maple-bodied instrument her mother had given her for her eighteenth birthday. She ran her fingers over the frets, and the strings, looking for any sign of damage. _He's perfect._

"I thought he was destroyed," she whispered, looking up at Bumblebee.

He shook his head. "I thought it was broken at first. The case was shattered. But it turned out it could be repaired. When we learned how much it meant to you, we sent it in to the best instrument-maker we could find, and it just came back last week."

Mattie laughed, drying her tears with the back of her hand. She stretched the other hand out and rubbed Bee's leg. "I don't know what to say. I- this means the world to me." She looked at all the people sitting around the bonfire, took in all the faces, Autobot or human. "Thanks, guys. Thank you so much."

"It was our pleasure," Cade said, grinning widely. "And as I said, it was mostly Bumblebee. He kept it safe from the moment he found you, and it was his idea to get it fixed. The rest of us just helped pay for it."

Mattie looked up at the yellow mech. "You kept him safe all along?" she whispered. _He did that for me?_

He grinned sheepishly. "You were holding on to it so tightly, I figured it was important to you. I always hoped to give it back to you at some point."

Slowly, with trembling fingers, Mattie eased the guitar out of the case and put the case down. She placed the familiar form across her lap, hesitantly testing the strings. _He needs a bit of gentle tuning, but not too bad._ She deftly manipulated the tuning pegs, then tried again. _There._ She started playing Vivaldi's Winter largo.

When she finished, there was absolute silence around the campfire. She looked up. They were all staring at her.

Cade cleared his throat. "That was beautiful, Mattie."

"Aw, Cade," Izzy laughed, wiping away the tears from her own cheeks. "Are you crying?"

"Well, I might be, you little pain in my butt," he laughed embarrassedly. "That was the most beautiful thing I ever heard."

Drift turned to Bumblebee. "Tell me you recorded that."

"I always record," Bumblebee murmured. He was still staring at her. That set off the butterflies in her stomach again.

"You said you call him Johnnie?" Viviane said. Her voice sounded a bit unsteady too.

Mattie nodded. "Yeah. It's a triple tribute, actually."

"Triple tribute?" Crosshairs asked.

"Yeah. Joni Mitchell, Johnny Cash and John Dowland. So, Johnnie."

Viviane grinned. "Sounds fitting."

"I don't get it," Cade said.

"Nor I," Drift agreed.

"Joni Mitchell and Johnny Cash are American musicians. Or were, in Johnny's case," Viviane said. "Come on, Cade, you know that. And John Dowland was a medieval composer, wasn't he?"

Mattie nodded.

"Will you play some for us?" Hound asked.

"Play John Dowland? Sure. This is a galliard." She started playing again. When the galliard ended, she continued straight into "Shall I compare thee", singing along with the music.

The last note died after hanging in the air for a while.

"That last one was Shakespeare," Viviane said.

Mattie smiled. "Yeah, sonnet 18. The melody is modern, by a composer named Lindberg. I just think it's lovely."

"It was beautiful," Optimus rumbled.

"Chihuahua," Sqweeks said. Mattie grinned at him.

She looked around at them. "I want to say something." She took a deep breath. "These last three months have been unbelievable. I want to thank you guys for everything – for taking me in, for helping me. For being my friends." She gave a small smile. "Without you, I wouldn't even have seen my twenty-first birthday."

Bumblebee reached out a finger, carefully drying away the stray tear that was running down her cheek.

"So, thanks. I owe you guys – well, I owe you guys everything. And I'm sorry I was ever scared of you," she finished, smiling. "I promise I'm done being scared."

Hound chuckled. "Well, we can't get better thanks than this. I swear, little lady, you make magic with that thing."

Izabella made her way around the fire and over to Mattie, throwing her arms around her. "We are sisters, okay?" The younger girl stared at her fiercely. "We are sisters."

"Sisters," Mattie murmured, hugging her back just as tightly. Then she pulled back and looked at Izabella. "And as your big sister, I'd say that your bedtime's coming up. You're sleepwalking already. Hound, will you take her?"

The mech stood up. "It's my pleasure. Come on, child." He gently picked Izzy up. "I'll see you, Mattie." Sqweeks looked back at Mattie, then followed the big mech into the darkness.

"G'night, guys."

"Autobots, Lennox wants us in the morning," Optimus said, standing up. "Bumblebee, you will take Mattie home, then go recharge. The rest of you will go now."

A chorus of "Yes, Optimus" went around the fire. Cade grinned, and pulled Viviane to her feet. "We can let the fire die down, it's not going to spread here. Good night, Mattie." He walked over and gave her a hug.

Viviane followed with a hug of her own. "I have to leave tomorrow," she said. "But it was fantastic meeting you."

"You, too," Mattie murmured. "Have a safe flight home, okay?"

Soon, it was just her and Bumblebee. The fire was dying down.

He looked at her. "One more song?"

She smiled, picking out the first few chords of 'Out here on my own'. "Anything for you, Bumblebee," she murmured, echoing his words from earlier in the day. "Anything at all."

_I think I'm falling for an alien._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mattie's music: The four seasons, Winter, Largo (Antonio Vivaldi).  
> John Dowland can be found on Spotify. I don't actually know which galliard it is that Mattie's playing here, but any one of them should give you a general idea.  
> Shall I compare thee is also on Spotify. Listen to the one by Bjørg Hasle Aschehoug, it's the closest to what I envision this sounds like. Mattie's a bit more jazz/soul, though, less lyrical opera.  
> Out here on my own, from Fame.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where feelings are revealed - but not in the way anyone wanted, Bumblebee learns who to not tell about things, and Cade is being a doofus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually the first part I wrote of this story, a few days after watching The Last Knight for the first time and subsequently dreaming that Bumblebee was with a human. I hope you like!

Mattie sat on the big stone outcropping overlooking the sea, her back towards the compound. The stone was rough and warm under her fingers and bare feet. She turned her face toward the sun hungrily, craving the little warmth the May day had to offer.

Cade dropped down beside her unceremoniously. "So I think something's bothering you," he said.

"Hi, Cade, I'm fine, how are you? Nice weather we're having," Mattie replied.

He grinned. "Ok, sorry, I'll take that one. But I still think something's bothering you."

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Mattie asked. She hoped she hadn't been that obvious.

"Oh, I have a knack for seeing these things," he said loftily. "And also, Izabella said she saw you crying when you went home last night."

Mattie sighed. Izzy was very observant.

"I'll take that as a yes, then." Cade looked at her. "Anything I can help with?"

"Probably not," Mattie replied. "It's a personal thing."

"Oh," Cade said. He frowned. "Not your parents or your brother, or I would have known. Not financial, not school, because you don't have any and haven't for a while. You don't seem to be scared any more – you spend all day here, hanging out with Bee and the others. So it must be a boy thing."

She glared at him. "Apparently I am much too transparent."

He chuckled. "No, don't worry. Process of elimination – and don't forget, I have a daughter, so I've done this before. But it is a boy thing, then. Though heaven knows where you've been to meet someone. So why are you down?"

Mattie sighed. "Because it's never going to happen."

"I thought you were old enough to be over the teenage melodrama way of looking at things," Cade said, looking at her. "Why is it never going to happen? And don't degrade yourself, you know you're better than that."

She sighed and spoke slowly. "It's never going to happen because he spends a lot of his time on four wheels, not on two legs."

"Oh. Right. Huh? Wait. What?" He stared at her increduously, taken aback. If the situation was anything else, that expression would have set her laughing. As it was, she wanted to cry again.

"You heard," she said glumly. "As I said, doomed to failure."

"You've fallen for one of them?" He still sounded shocked, and no wonder. She'd been shocked herself. She still was.

When she didn't answer, he seemed to take a mental hold of himself. "Oh. Wow. I mean, the possibility of that happening never even occurred to me. I mean, they're not human." He looked sideways at her. "Sorry."

"No, you're right. And you're not saying anything I haven't already told myself."

"Guess not. Huh. This is really…"

"Weird?" She said. "Yeah. And dumb. And strange. And unbelievable. And stupid. And foolish. And abnormal."

"I'm not sure it's dumb," Cade said. "I've rarely known you to do anything dumb. Or stupid."

"Thank you," she mumbled. "Sure isn't smart though."

"No, probably not," he agreed. "Not sure anything good will come of it. I'm sorry," he said sympathetically.

"Yeah, me too." They sat for a moment in silence.

"It's Bumblebee, isn't it," he said quietly. It wasn't a question.

She buried her head in her arms. "Of course it's Bumblebee."

He stroked her back for a few moments, then stood up to leave. She lifted her head. "Don't tell anyone, please," she said. "I don't want anyone to know. They'll think I'm a freak."

"You're not. It's just…"

"…aberrant," she finished.

"Yeah," he said. "That's as good a word as any."

* * *

She stayed away from the compound for about a week. When she finally chose to come back, it was the weather that drew her – it was just too nice to stay cooped up in her little house. For May, it was unseasonably warm – humid, even, hinting at rough weather ahead. She didn't mind, it suited her mood.

"Hey, Iz, Sqweeks," she called as she walked through the gates. The little robot whirred and beeped at her, and the girl grinned and waved.

"Mattie! Where you been?"

"Oh you know, here and there," she replied with a smile. "The others around?"

"I have no idea," Izabella replied. "Prime took off with Bee and Drift about an hour ago, I don't think they're back yet. The others should be here, though. And guess what! Viviane's coming tomorrow!"

"She is? Cool!" _It'll be nice to have another woman around. Maybe she can help me make sense of this._

Mattie walked on through the compound, past the old cars and decrepit equipment that littered the lot. She was glad Bee was out. Talking to Cade had made everything spring into sharp relief for her, and she wasn't ready to face him. She should probably not have come back at all. Maybe she could talk Viviane into taking her with her to England or something.

"Hey, Cade," she called as she entered the building. The big, makeshift workshop was almost empty, and the sound of her voice echoed around the room. Cade was bending over one of the workbenches, welding a small piece of metal onto another small piece. "You holding the fort solo?"

He looked up. "Yeah, for now." He finished his welding, then straightened and smiled. "Glad to see you back. How're you doing?"

"Oh, you know," she said. "Keeping my chin up and pushing through it."

"Is it helping?"

"No, not really. But I don't see what else I can do, short of going away for a good long time." She picked up a wrench and put it back down. "Speaking of away, I hear your significant other is coming by again tomorrow?"

"Yeah, she's coming to stay for a few weeks this time. She only flew in for such a short time last month because it was your birthday. It'll be nice to have her around for a bit longer." He grinned. "Although I bet you'll hear the bickering all the way from your house by the end of the week."

"Oh shut up." She grinned back. "Viviane's a gem and you know it. I'm looking forward to seeing her again."

"You and me both."

* * *

She hung around in Cade's workshop most of the day, joking with him and Izzy and enjoying the sun. Thankfully, there was no sign of Bumblebee. That was bittersweet – on the one hand, she didn't really want to see him, but on the other hand, she would give almost anything to have him there. So when she finally headed home, and a yellow Camaro cruised up behind her as she walked away from the compound, she wasn't wholly disappointed.

The passenger window rolled down. "Hey, pretty lady/give you a ride?"

She smiled, but her hands were shaking. "C'mon Bee, you know it's further if you drive me home than if I walk."

"I'm a fine-tuned supersonic speed machine/Let me take you for a ride," the radio sang.

She threw up her hands and laughed. "Okay then, speed machine. Let's go for a ride."

He opened the driver side door for her, and she went around the car and got in.

As she leaned back in the soft leather seat, he revved his engine and took off.

"So where are we going?" She asked.

"Found somewhere nice/wanted to show you," Bee replied, using the radio signals. "New spot."

"Cool." She settled back, idly stroking the steering wheel – of course he was driving himself – and the door panels.

"You've been gone/all week," Bee said.

"Yeah," Mattie replied. "I had something I needed to think about alone."

"Missed you," the radio said. "No fun without you."

Her heart raced. _Don't read anything into it_ , she thought _. He's talking as any friend would_. "Sure you did," she said, teasingly. "Nothing to do but hang out with Drift, huh?"

"Drift/is an absolute and complete asshole," Bee said. She was impressed he'd found that last phrase on the radio waves.

They drove on in silence. Mattie realized she didn't recognize the scenery flying by slightly too fast outside the window. "Where is this place anyway?"

"Found it/on patrol," Bee said. "Thought you'd like it/It's very pretty. Not far."

Sure enough, moments later he turned into an old gravel road. As soon as the trees screened them from the main road, he stopped and opened the door. He started transforming as she got out, and the next moment she was craning her neck to look up at his face, almost level with the treetops.

"We need to go on foot from here," he said, no longer using the radio. "The road is so bad, it near well broke me the first time around."

"Okay," she agreed. "I guess your sports car alt mode isn't really built for offroading."

He chuckled, then held down his hand. "I can still give you a lift?"

Sitting high on Bee's shoulder while he was walking through the woods was a bit of a thrill. She thought she could have seen for miles if it hadn't been for the trees. "You know, you have quite the view, Bee."

"That's one of the advantages of this form on this planet," he smiled.

Mattie grew curious. "Which others are there?"

"Not that many, to be honest," he replied. "Everything is scaled for humans here, so we're too big. I've bumped into my share of telephone wires and such. And we have to look where we walk, in case we accidentally stomp someone flat. And since we're heavier than your roads and pavements are constructed for, we tend to ruin them if we walk carelessly." He chuckled. "Then again, you have awesome roadways, and lots of cool vehicles for our alt modes. Cruising is really cool. And you humans are fun to hang around when you're not fighting us." He pushed through some low-hanging foliage. "We're here."

'Here' turned out to be a small, sandy beach, a narrow stretch of sand barely separating the sea from the woods. To their left, the ground rose up towards a small cliff, the grass taking over from the sand and growing long up towards the top. To their right, the sand gave way to pebbles and rocks, and ended suddenly in a steep cliff face.

"Very pretty," Mattie commented.

"You should see the view from the cliff top," Bee replied. "That was really why I brought you here." He gently put her down. "You should walk up there on your own though, so my height doesn't spoil the surprise. It's not far."

They set to walking. Mattie realized her hands was shaking. _This is stupid_ , she thought. _I should be far away from here, not indulging in more time with him. Nothing good can come from this. Dumbass girl, falling in love with a robot. I must be sick in the head._

It didn't take long to climb the little incline. Mattie stopped. "Wow," she breathed. "I can see _everything_."

She could. Somehow, while climbing up, they had also gone farther out. To the north, she could see for miles up the coastline – she even thought she could make up the tiny lighthouse that she could see from her house. To the south, she saw the lights from the city glinting in the distance. And in front of her, there was nothing but sea – miles and miles of it. "This is awesome."

Bumblebee laid down next to her, so his head was just a little higher than her own. "I thought you'd like it. If it wasn't for the curvature of the planet, you could see all the way to another continent if you had sharp enough eyes."

She stretched her right arm up and touched his face gently. "Thanks, Bee. This is gorgeous."

"I thought you would think so. This place was almost made for you, it's exactly as you like it."

"How do you know?"

"I know you," he replied simply.

_He doesn't mean anything by it, don't read anything into it_. She sat down on the grass – not because she wanted to, it was either sitting down or falling down. Her knees wouldn't carry her.

He laid his head down on his hands. "There's something I have to tell you."

She looked up at him.

"Cade told me. Of the talk you and he had the other night."

"Oh no." She buried her head in her hands. Tears welled up in her eyes. "He shouldn't have done that. How much did he tell you?"

"He told me everything. Hey, don't cry." One finger gently pulled her hands away from her face – gently, but so strong was he that she couldn't have fought it had she wanted to. "I didn't tell you to make you feel bad. I just thought that if you stayed away because I didn't know, then maybe if I did know you wouldn't stay away."

She freed one of her hands and scrubbed her eyes angrily. "Human feelings don't work like that." Now that he did know, she found she couldn't look at him at all.

Gently, again with just the one finger, he turned her face towards him. His bright blue optics shone at her. "Autobots have feelings too, you know. We're not that different from you. Aside from the obvious."

"Aside from the obvious," she agreed. "But the obvious is a pretty big damn fact. We're not the same species. You must think I'm a freak."

"I don't. I think you're caught in a very confusing situation." He still hadn't released her head. "I would help you, if I can."

"You talk like Prime," she said. He looked away briefly. "Wait, that's it, isn't it? You've talked to Optimus about this!" She got up angrily and turned to storm down the hill, only to find that Bee's large frame blocked the path.

"Don't be mad," he said behind her. "I haven't done this before, and I didn't want to hurt you if I could avoid it."

"Let me pass, please," she said quietly.

He got up. "Do you want to leave? I'll take you home if you want to."

"Not yet. Give me a few minutes." She needed to get her emotions back under control.

She fled down on the beach. Bumblebee was still up on the cliff top, but she didn't doubt he could see her. She walked right into the water, then turned and walked back. The water was freezing, but refreshing, and suddenly she felt like washing everything away. She stripped down to her underwear and threw herself into the sea.

She was a strong wimmer, but the current was pulling ar her, so she stayed in the shallows. Dimly, her head under water, she could hear Bee call her name. She didn't feel like ever coming up.

Eventually, the need for air forced her back above the surface. She emerged to find Bee on the beach, looking straight at her. "Don't drown, please," he said.

"I don't intend to," she replied. Man, but it was getting cold. Shivering slightly, she started walking out of the water and making her way toward her clothes. "Close your eyes, Bee." He dimmed his optics.

She didn't have a towel, so she wrung as much water as she could out of her wet hair and stripped out of her wet underwear. Her nipples had hardened against the cold, and she had goosebumps all over. She jumped up and down and ran back and forth a bit to dry off as much as possible, then hurriedly pulled on her pants and shirt again, leaving the underwear off. That, she wrung the water out of and tied into a knot so she could carry it easily without dripping everywhere.

"Okay, I'm ready. Take me home, please."

They didn't talk on the way back to the main road, and she got into his alt mode without a word. He turned on the heat and directed it at her.

After a few minutes of silent driving, slower now than on the way there, he broke the silence. "Are you/very angry with me?"

Mattie thought about it, then shook her head. "I'm angry with you, yeah. But I'm furious at Cade."

"Why?"

"Because he betrayed my trust. Don't you see? I asked him not to tell anyone, and he went and told you. You! When he had to tell someone, why did he tell you of all people? And you went and told Prime! That's how rumors get started! Who knows who else Cade told? Or Prime? Or what if someone overheard you, and they tell someone else?" She rubbed her eyes again, wiping away a stray tear. "Soon everyone will now, and I'll be the freak everyone points out and laughs at behind her back. As if the situation wasn't bad enough, he had to go and make it worse!"

"He told me/because he was afraid/you would leave us," Bee's radio said.

"That might be for the best," she whispered.

He stayed silent after that.

* * *

It was almost dark as he dropped her off at the gate to her house. To her surprise, he transformed again, following her over the fence and setting off with her across the field.

"Just making sure you get all the way home all right," he said in response to her look. "Don't want you freezing to death on the way."

She shrugged.

"So are you coming by tomorrow? Viviane's coming."

"I know. I don't think so, not tomorrow. I've got to find a way to act naturally first. That was easier when nobody knew."

"Oh."

As she reached toward the door knob, he spoke again. "Hey, Mattie?"

She turned toward him. "Yeah?"

"How can I help?"

"You can leave me alone for a few days."

She turned and entered the house, without looking back.


	12. Chapter 12

Viviane rose and stretched. It was early evening. Cade was out who knows where, and he had taken most of the 'bots with him – including Hot Rod, who had come to visit alongside her. She had been sitting outside with Izabella, but now she and Sqweeks had left too, to go and visit Mattie. She seemed to have the compound to herself.

The roar of an engine broke the illusion. Viviane had been going inside to start up some form of dinner – Lord knows Cade desperately needed a woman's touch, there was nothing that even resembled fresh food in the kitchen – but now she paused.

A bright yellow car with black details came skidding around the far corner of the building and headed towards her. She waved. "Hey, Bumblebee!"

He transformed in front of her. "Hey, Viviane, good to see you!"

"You too, Bee! Where have you been these last couple of days?"

He sat down in and leaned up against the building. "I've been keeping busy, checking out some rumored Decepticon hideouts and helping with the Cybertron dismantling over near the city."

"Been keeping busy," Viviane repeated. "Not being kept busy, then?"

"No, this was purely volunteer work," he replied. "I've had a lot on my mind." He looked at her. "In fact, I could do with your advice."

 _Ah_. "I think I know what this is about," Viviane said. "This is about Mattie, isn't it?"

He stared at her, his face showing as much surprise as it was capable of. "You know, too? Did she tell you?"

"No, Cade did," Viviane replied.

Bumblebee shook his head. "She's not going to be happy about that. She's already furious with him for telling me."

"Cade thought I might be able to help," Viviane said. "I have access to the full Witwiccan database, and I'm a trained researcher. He thought I might be able to find something that we didn't already know about."

"And did you find something?"

"I did, actually. Come into the hangar, and I'll show you."

She turned and entered the huge building, and Bumblebee followed with heavy footsteps. She crossed to the table where her computer was standing and touched a few keys.

"Here," she said. "This is the earliest mention I've been able to find. The Book of Martyn, from about 1354. It chronicles closely the events of the Order from 1315 and onwards, closely enough that we suspect the author actually saw and lived what he was writing about. Very exciting. Anyway, here – " she pointed "- it recounts the death of a lady Elenore, in year 1334. Apparently, lady Elenore was involved with a Transformer, probably romantically. It says that she 'lived with him as with family and took no other husband', which we can take to mean that she saw him as a husband. Unfortunately, his name is not given – the author merely names him as 'Elenore's guardian', or simply 'Guardian'."

She opened another window on the computer. "And then we have this one. A bit of a curiosity. This is the White Book of Carmarthen, and we think the original is from sometime in the fifteenth century based on the information in it. It includes some rather interesting tales ascribed to a woman – a rarity in those times – and they all record stories of romance between human women and majestic, humanoid creatures that were made of strange metal and were taller than houses. Many of these were said to be shape changers."

She looked up at Bumblebee. "I've found similar stories all the way up to modern times, the most recent being from the sixties. At some point they crossed into the realm of science fiction and became more fanciful, but if you know what you're looking for it all fits."

"So what you're saying is that Mattie is not the first human woman to fall in love with an Autobot."

"No, probably not," Viviane agreed. "In fact, she seems to be following a tradition as old as the presence of Transformers on Earth."

"Well, that's at least something. Maybe I can convince her that she's not such a freak as she believes." He sighed. "I just wish I knew what to do."

Viviane eyed him quizzically. "I think that depends on what you feel, Bumblebee."

"What _I_ feel?"

"You sound surprised." Viviane grinned. "Yes, what you feel. That's what should determine your actions here, not what is normal, what has happened before or what anyone else thinks. How do you actually feel about Mattie and what's she's feeling?"

He looked down. "That's…. a difficult question."

"It's not, really. I know you Autobots form just as strong bonds as humans do, so I know you know what I'm talking about." She folded her arms under her breasts. "It boils down to whether you feel the same as she does or not."

"But she's human."

"Yes. Let's ignore the species question for now. What would you do, were she not?"

He was quiet for a long time. "I don't…. know."

Vivane shook her head and grinned. "You're such a novice, Bee. I know you're older than me by at least a millenium, but you are such a rookie at this." She looked up at him. "Oh, don't be offended. Here, I'm going to help you figure it out. It may take some thinking on your part, though. Are you ready for that?"

He nodded. "Bring it on."

"Okay. First question. The very first time you met Mattie, what was the first thing you noticed about her?"

He chuckled. "That's easy. That was when we were scouting out the crash site in the suburbs near Troy. I was teamed up with Hound, and we had dug through three skyscrapers and one caravan park – lots of human corpses, no survivors. It was getting very dark, we had to activate our lights. And then I heard her. She was singing." Bumblebee paused, and then came the sound of a recording. A high, clear voice was singing in a language Viviane didn't recognize. "Rusalka's song to the moon," Bumblebee said. "I asked her what it was later. She can't remember that day at all, though." The recording cut off. "She was barely conscious when we found her, but she was singing. If she hadn't been, we might never have found her. She was trapped under a wall."

He leaned his head back against the wall. "It took weeks before she was fit to leave the hospital. She was one of only four survivors found that day. When she did leave, she didn't have a place to go, so Cade invited her to stay here."

Viviane smiled. "He seems to have a heart for strays."

Bee chuckled.

"How did Cade come to learn of her? Was he helping in the search and rescue too?"

"Yes, but not there," Bumblebee replied. "He was with Drift at another crash site. We were spread thin, there was so much to do. But I told him about her, and he went to visit her at the hospital with Izabella. When we found out that she was alone here, we fixed up the train car that she now calls a house, and she lives here. Even when we found out her family was alive, she wanted to stay here."

"I see. So it was her voice, then," Viviane said. "I guess I understand that, she has a very fine singing voice."

"Yes," Bumblebee confirmed. "She has the most beautiful singing voice I've ever heard – not that I'm the best judge of human voices, but still. I drove everyone crazy while she was in the hospital, constantly playing that recording. I've made more of them now – " there was a smile in his voice – "but that first one's still my favorite."

Viviane smiled. "You know, I know what you need to do now. But I have one more question for you. Maybe after answering that, you'll know too."

"Go ahead."

"Cade told me that she didn't come here at all for almost a week after their talk. Then she came once, and now she's been gone again."

Bumblebee nodded. "She says she needs time to herself. She asked me to leave her alone for a few days."

"How do you feel when she's not here?"

Bumblebee was silent for a moment. "It's emptier here. I mean, all the other ones are still here, but something is missing. When I'm out on patrol I just want to come back, but when I come back I just want to leave again. It's almost as if there's no point to me being here either, because the reason I'm here is gone." He paused. "Oh. Wow. I see." Then he looked down at her. "I've got to go."

Viviane laughed. "Yes, you do. Get out of here, you silly Autobot. You have somewhere else to be."

She was still laughing as he transformed and sped out of the building.

* * *

Viviane was getting undressed and ready to take a shower as Cade's arms snuck around her from behind. "So I hear someone talked some sense into a certain Autobot," he murmured, kissing her throat and bare shoulder.

She smiled. "Did Bee tell you we spoke?"

He shook his head, still nuzzling her bare skin. "Prime did. Bee had apparently sped past him on his way somewhere, and Prime got just enough of an explanation to tell me what was going on. I guess you got through to him, huh?"

"To be honest, he did most the talking. I just got him to voice his feelings out loud. When he heard what he was saying, he understood." She turned around. "Most males I know do see sense in the end."

He grinned and kissed her. "Most."

"You know," she murmured between kisses, "I actually think he's loved her since he first saw her. Heard her, I should say."

Cade pulled back and looked at her. "Of course he has. You should've heard him that first week after they found her. He was like a lovesick puppy. He still gets like that whenever she's not here. It just never struck me that there was something romantic in it; I thought he was just fiercely protective. They can get like that." He grinned. "I didn't add it up until after I talked with Mattie last week. That's why I asked you to look into it." He sat down and pulled her down into her lap. "Did you find anything, by the way?"

"Yes," she said, leaning against him and unbuttoning his shirt. "She's not the first. She's not even the tenth. But it's going to be an uphill battle for them, figuring this out, and there are somethings they may have to do without."

"Such as this, for example." He kissed her from the neck down towards her left breast.

"Yes," Viviane gasped. Then she grinned. "As far as I've been able to determine, Transformers have no sexual drive. They don't reproduce biologically, so they don't have genitals. Not to mention, he's more than twice her height and at least three times as wide."

Cade rose, still holding her, and carried her to the showers. "Poor Mattie. She'll be missing out."

"Yeah. Then again, there are people who are turned on by hot cars. You never know."

He laughed out loud at that. "You never know." Then he closed the bathroom door behind them.


	13. Chapter 13

On the third morning since Mattie had been at the cliff top with Bee, she woke to find a bright yellow Camaro standing right outside her bedroom window. It looked like he had been standing there for a while; he was covered in dew. She slid open the window. "Hey."

"Hey."

"I need to take a shower, Bee. I'll be out afterwards. Okay?"

"No problem/I'll wait right here."

* * *

The hot water felt great on her bare skin. Unfortunately, it didn't distract her from the knowledge that Bee was right outside waiting for her. She felt like her stomach was full of butterflies the size of sparrows. Her skin tingled.

Drying off and dressing in a hurry, she grabbed a breakfast muffin from the counter and headed outside. He was still there. She stopped a few yards away from him, suddenly shy. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Um." She hesitated, then asked another question than she intended. "How long have you been standing here?"

"A while."

"Oh."

The silence stretched.

"Um. Go for a ride/with me?" Bumblebee asked hesitantly.

She nodded. "Sure. Did you drive in here though?"

"Yeah. There's a gate." He opened the driver side door.

"Okay." She got in, and settled back in the soft seat. There was a bag in the back seat.

"Taking a trip?"

"Actually/it's for you."

"Oh. Am I taking a trip?" Mattie asked, trying to keep her tone light. "Where am I going?" The idea hurt. A lot. She had been thinking about leaving the city – heck, she had been thinking of leaving the continent – but suddenly she realized she would never have gone through with it.

"Nowhere. You're going to stay/here with me."

"Oh. Good." She grinned, and relaxed a bit.

"It's lunch. And a blanket. And a towel."

She giggled. "I think it's too cold for swimming today."

The bad weather that the earlier humidity had hinted at seemed to be just around the corner. Dark clouds were boiling in the horizon. Bee had turned around, and now he was speeding along on the edge of the field, between the grass and the long drop down to the beach below.

Mattie looked out the window and blanched. "Jeeeeeesus! Slow down, crazy, or get away from the edge!"

Bumblebee laughed. "It's safe/I promise. I'm a good driver."

"Yeah, but if we drop 200 feet down there, you'll probably live through it. I'll be smashed into tiny smithereens and spread like jam across the stones."

"So will I. We're not/immortal/you know." He chuckled. "Besides/do you think/I would risk/your life? Especially now."

Mattie was gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles whitened. For all the good it did, the wheel might as well been a prop. "Then get away from the edge, dummy."

"Okay, okay, relax." He inched a little further to the right. "Better?"

She looked out the window. "The risk of my having a heart attack has decreased somewhat."

He laughed.

"So where are we going today?" Mattie asked.

"Same spot/I thought," he replied. "Maybe/better today."

"Okay." Mattie shrugged and smiled. "It's a really good spot."

At the end of the field there was a gate, just as promised. Bee had to slow down, as the road on the other side was more like a track than anything else. As soon as they hit the main road again, he drove faster.

"You like going fast, don't you, Bee," Mattie commented.

"That's the whole point," he replied. "Why else be/a sports car? Do you like it?"

She thought about it. "With you, I do," she replied. "I know you're in perfect control. But with a human driver, I would be ranting by now."

"You'll always be safe/with me," he promised.

It seemed like no time at all before they were once again turning into the small gravel road, and Bee opened the door for her. As before, after transforming, he reached down with his hand – servo - and offered to carry her. In his other servo, carelessly slung across a digit, he carried the bag from the back seat.

"How sensitive are you to touch, Bee?" Mattie asked when she had settled on his shoulder. "I mean, does it tickle when I'm sitting up here?

He laughed. "I'm not ticklish. Some parts are more sensitive than others, and some parts aren't sensitive at all." He lifted a hand and flexed his fingers. "My digits are sensitive, or I'd never get anything done. My faceplates. My peds and most of my body are sensitive to the degree that I can feel that I'm touching something and how hard, but not in the same way that your human skin is sensitive." He paused. "I am, after all, made of metal."

"I guess. So you can feel it if I fall off, then."

He laughed loudly. "I can feel every move you make up there."

"Can I hurt you? If I put my weight wrong?"

"I can't imagine you could. As I said, I'm not that sensitive. It hurts if someone hits me really hard, of course. Or if I fall off a cliff." She grinned at that. "But most small things don't hurt," Bee continued. "The external alt mode parts are the most insensitive, thankfully. It would suck if it hurt every time a pebble hit my windshield."

"I guess that would be really annoying," Mattie agreed. She reached out and laid a hand against the large yellow door-wing behind his shoulder. "So you can't feel this, then."

"Oh no, I can feel it," Bee said. "But if you were to hit me there, it wouldn't hurt as much as if you were to hit my face, for instance."

She reached out and gently stroked his face with her fingers. "So this you can feel."

"I can feel everything, Mattie." Bumblebee said. Then he continued in a lower voice. "I'm aware of every touch."

Mattie blushed slightly.

"I imagine it's a bit like humans wearing clothes," Bee continued in a normal voice. "Your skin is really sensitive, but it dampens the sensitivity a lot if you have a few layers of clothes on. You can still feel if someone touches you, but perhaps not if a bug walks on you or a feather brushes you." He chuckled. "I can never feel if I got bugs on me."

Mattie looked him over as much as he could from her vantage point. "I can't see any."

He laughed loudly again.

Sooner than she liked, they were back on the beach. Bumblebee didn't pause to put her down, but continued straight up the hill to the left. "Can't spoil the surprise this time, you've already seen it," he explained at her look. She nodded.

At the very top, he stopped. "Wow," Mattie breathed. "Would you look at that."

"Yes," Bumblebee agreed. "It looks like we have a real monster of a storm ahead."

The sky was bright blue over their heads, but purplish-grey clouds were boiling not halfway to the horizon. The water underneath was churned to a white froth, and the waves hitting the cliff face beneath them were the colour of dark slate.

"I don't think we should eat lunch outside today," Mattie whispered.

"Probably not. But we still have a few hours before this hits us, so we might as well make the most of it." He set her down and put down the bag. "There's a blanket in there for you to sit on. Would you mind? Zippers are really not Autobot-friendly."

Mattie grinned. "I see what you mean." As she opened the bag, the first thing she noticed was a bunch of small boxes, all containing food. Next to them were two bottles of Pepsi. "Who packed the food? These boxes aren't Autobot-friendly either." She dug past them to pull out the blanket.

"Izzy did. She helped me make it last night."

Mattie paused. "Izabella knows now too?"

"Oh, no." Bee grinned. "She wanted to do something for you, so I asked her if she would help me prepare a lunch for you for today. All she knows is whatever you've told her, and that I was planning to stop by and see you."

Mattie blushed slightly again. "She came to see me last night. Wondered why I'd been absent the last couple of days. I told her I had sinusitis and was waiting for the medicine to kick in so I could get rid of all the headaches." She looked up at his puzzled expression. "Sinusitis is an inflammation of the hollow spaces in our heads, around the nose mostly."

"You have hollow spaces in your heads?" Bumblebee sounded appalled. Then he shook his head. "Never mind. I don't want to know." He sat down next to her. "But there is someone else who has been told. Not by me this time."

She sighed. "It's Viviane. I knew Cade couldn't keep it from her."

"Yeah, it's Viviane. She talked to me last night. She was very helpful. Cade had her look through the Witwiccan archives, and she helped me figure out some things."

"Oh?" Mattie asked curiously. "What did you learn?"

"First of all, that there's been bondings – probably romantic – between humans and Cybertronians for as long as we've been on this planet. She has a bunch of names from a bunch of old books. You can get the details from her if you like, I couldn't get my head around them." He looked at her. "But it means that you're not a freak. People have done this before."

Mattie chuckled grimly. "That just means there's probably a diagnosis for it."

"Second," Bumblebee continued, ignoring her. "It seems these relationships were mutual. These weren't just stories about human women lusting for thirty-foot-tall aliens, the tales were of pairings. The Cybertronians returned these feelings, it seems."

Mattie had no answer for this. The butterflies from this morning had suddenly returned in force, and this time they were the size of starlings. Carefully she peeked up at him, and found he was staring at her with an intensity she hadn't seen before.

"That brings me to third," he said quietly, hesitantly. "She made me realize that – you're more than a friend to me. You always have been." He looked out over the ocean. "I've never felt like this before, so I don't know for sure. But I think – I think I might be in l-"

"Hush."

He looked at her, startled. "What's wrong?"

Mattie looked at her hands. She didn't quite know why she had interrupted him – it seemed like he had been on the verge of saying the very thing she wanted most to hear. But suddenly, she was terrified. "I don't know. Or, I do. I'm scared, Bee. This is – we're not the same. What if this ends badly? What if it doesn't work out at all? Or what if –" she drew her breath unsteadily "- what if you wake up tomorrow or a few weeks from now and realize that that pesky human who's always hanging around with you has become a nuisance? I'm not like you, Bumblebee."

He looked at her. "Mattie..." Suddenly her world was tilted sideways – she was moved, and held up against something hard. It took her a moment to realize Bee was hugging her. He was holding her tight against his chest, so tight she could barely breathe, but oh, so carefully. She clung to him hard and hoped he would never let go.

"When I first found you," he said softly, "I thought you were amazing. And as I've gotten to know you, you've become an integral part of me, something I can't function properly without. I understand why you're scared, because I'm scared too. I'm scared that you have human needs that I with my metal body can't fulfill, and that one day you'll vanish with someone more right for you. And I don't know how I will ever live through that."

He relaxed slightly, enough so that she could look at his face. "I love you, Mattie Eden. I have since the first time I found you. And I know that this will be difficult, and might well be impossible, but I have to try. I'll never forgive myself if I don't."

Mattie wiped her eyes with one hand. She reached up, and pulled herself closer to his face. And then she kissed him.

Apparently, it took him a moment to understand what she was doing. But then he closed his arms around her again and held her close.

It was a strange experience. His face was so much bigger than hers. The difference from the normal human kisses she'd had before was obvious. _I'm kissing an alien._ The thought was so ridiculous that she started laughing.

She pulled back, still giggling. "I'm sorry about that. The kissing bit, I mean. That was a very human impulse."

"I don't mind. It was interesting." Bumblebee grinned. "What's so funny?"

She leaned her head against him. "I suddenly realized I was kissing an alien."

"Hah! So was I," he replied. "A first for both of us."

She looked up at him. "Do Cybertronians kiss?"

"I have no idea." He shrugged, temporarily dislocating her. "Oops, sorry. I've never had the chance to figure out. Plus, I've been mouthless ever since Megatron destroyed my voice box. It would have been like kissing Darth Vader."

"Good pop culture reference," she complimented him.

He grinned again. "It's rubbing off on me."

Bee leaned back against a huge tree growing near the top of the cliff, and Mattie lay on her stomach on his chest. One digit was stroking her back gently.

"So are there other human impulses I should know about?" he asked idly.

She giggled. "Probably. I think kissing is the big one though, the others require a bit more – preparation. Not quite that impulsive."

"Huh." He said. "I guess I know what you mean. Cade and Viviane aren't exactly discreet."

Mattie giggled.

"Is that really how you reproduce?"

"Yeah. Sex first, then the woman gets pregnant, carries the baby in her womb for nine months, and then it gets born through the birth canal." She shrugged.

His stroking became slower, hesitant. "Is that… something you want? To have children?"

Mattie hesitated, then said something other than she had intended. "I'm 21. Most people don't start thinking about this until mid-twenties, at least." _Time enough for the long story another time._

"Yeah, but – with me, you won't get to experience them."

"Says who?" She grinned. "They can do great wonders with donated sperm and artificial insemination these days."

"But Mattie-"

"Hush." She put a hand on his mouth. "Shut up and listen to me. Stop worrying about it. This, right now, is all I want. If I'm thinking long term, I may want to finish my BA. That would be great. Anything else, we can work out." She climbed up until she was sitting on her knees on his chest and her eyes were level with his. "If there are bridges in our future, we'll cross them when we get there. Let's enjoy the here and now first." Then she kissed him again.

After a long while, she broke it off and lay her head against his cheek. "Not bad," she grinned. "With practice, we might get quite good at this."

He chuckled. "Sounds like a plan." Then he shifted and looked up. "But I think we have to do it later."

She turned and looked where he was looking. "Whoa. Those clouds are moving fast."

"Yeah. And see that silver-grey edge?" He pointed. "It's a lightning storm. And you're sitting on a giant metal figure that might as well be a walking, talking lightning rod." He got up without jostling her and gently put her down. "Come on. Let's try and get to the road before it hits, you're safer in my alt mode."


	14. Chapter 14

The first raindrops hit them as they were entering the trees. Bumblebee tried to shelter her from it as much as possible, but by the time they reached the end of the gravel, she was completely drenched. As he transformed and opened the door for her, the world suddenly flashed white and there was a loud crash.

"That hit the cliff, I think," Mattie said and giggled.

"Why are you laughing?/You're shivering/and wet," Bumblebee said. He turned on the heat.

"I like thunderstorms," she replied. "There's something about the power in them. They're an elemental force, and you can't influence them or control them."

"You've never been/hit by lightning," Bee said drily.

"No, I've always watched from a place of safety." She giggled. "Do you think I'll ever get to leave here without being soaking wet?"

He laughed.

As he sped down the road, the lightning formed an almost endless set of flashes across the sky. He had his wipers running on full speed, it was still hard to see _. I'm glad I'm not driving_ , Mattie thought. She didn't even bother to hold on to the wheel.

"Can you take me home so I can change?"

"Not in this," he replied. "Your house/not safe. Not with me. Lightning rod/remember?"

"Oh, yeah." She thought about it. "Well, if we go to the compound, maybe I can borrow some of Viviane's clothes."

"Better," he agreed. "And there's a/towel/in the bag."

She twisted and pulled it out along with the blanket. "I'm sorry, Bee. I'm getting your seats all wet."

"Blame/the rain," he chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll/dry off."

It wasn't long before they were entering the compound. Bumblebee headed for the hangar. Mattie suddenly tensed.

Bee noticed. "What's wrong?"

"What if everyone's there?" She whispered.

"So what?" he said. "Does that matter?"

"I don't want everyone to know yet."

"Then we'll/keep it a secret," he promised.

Thankfully, the hangar was almost empty. Viviane was there with Izabella, and an Autobot Mattie didn't know. Mattie relaxed a bit.

"Oh wow, Mattie, did you go swimming with your clothes on?" Izzy laughed.

"Haha." Mattie grinned. "Not quite, though it feels like it. It's good to see you, Viviane! I'd hug you, but I don't think you'd want me to right now." She looked down on herself. "Do you have a set of clothes I can borrow for a few hours? My house isn't quite as safe during a thunderstorm as I thought."

Viviane rose. "Absolutely." She grinned and looked from Bumblebee, who was shaking the water off over by the hangar doors, to Mattie, and back to Bee. "Did you have a nice morning?"

Mattie smiled. "The best."

Vivane smiled and headed towards Cade's rooms in the back. "Oh, by the way. Mattie, this is Hot Rod. Hot Rod, this is our friend Mattie."

The tall Autobot bowed. "'Ello, mademoiselle."

"Bonjour, Hot Rod. Est-ce que vous êtes français? My family lives in France."

He shook his head and grinned. "No, miss. Just sounds that way."

"Do you feel better, then?" Izzy asked.

"Yeah, finally," Mattie said. "That's partly why I've had such a good morning."

"Bumblebee!" Hot Rod exclaimed, walking over to the yellow Autobot. "So nice to see you again, my friend!"

"Hot Rod!" Bumblebee called. He shook off a few droplets. "Awesome! Now we can turn this town on its head!"

"That will have to wait for tonight," Viviane called. "Remember, Hot Rod? Target practice with Crosshairs?"

"That's right," Hot Rod said. "'E says 'e can take me, but I zink 'e is full of 'ot air." He winked at Mattie. "We 'ave a bet." He stood up. "Well, until later, my friends. Mademoiselle Mattie, it was nice to meet you!"

"Likewise!" Mattie smiled at him. "Have fun wiping the smug grin from Crosshairs' face!"

As Hot Rod left, Bumblebee looked at Viviane. "Target practice? In this weather?"

"That was the point," Viviane nodded. "They're up against the elements as well as each other. Apparently, Optimus said they should all go. That's why we're all alone here. Even Cade went along, he thought it would be useful."

"Was I supposed to go too?" Bumblebee asked.

"I don't think so, not unless you want to. Optimus didn't command, he merely approved."

"Oh. Good." Bumblebee grinned. "I've been struck by lightning before, I really don't feel the need to try that again."

Viviane laughed and took Mattie by the hand. "Come on, let's get you into something dry."

She pulled Mattie along into the office, a small walled-off area along one of the walls. "Here," she said, putting the clothes on the table in the middle of the room. "Got you a dry towel too."

"Thanks," Mattie said and started pulling her shirt over her head.

Viviane sat on the edge of the table. "So. I don't mean to pry – but I'm very, very, very curious." She grinned mischievously.

Mattie blushed. "You don't think this is weird?"

Viviane snorted. "Sweetheart, last winter I learned that I'm a direct descendant of Merlin, a figure I've spent most of my adult life trying to prove did not exist. I'm good with weird."

Mattie giggled. "I guess I see what you mean." She hesitated, holding the towel Viviane had brought up in front of her. "This is weirder than most, though."

"You might be right," Viviane conceded. "But people have relationships with all sorts of things. At least you fell for something sentient."

Now it was Mattie's turn to snort. "Yeah."

"He's also a thoroughly good and decent person," Viviane added. "You could have done a lot worse."

Mattie blushed. "So aside from him being a 17 foot tall alien who also happens to turn into a car…"

"I don't think you should let the alien thing bother you too much," Viviane said. "He obviously cares for you. He told you that, didn't he?"

Mattie nodded as she pulled on the dry skirt Viviane had found for her.

"And you obviosly care for him."

Mattie smiled and blushed again. God, she seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Then the way I see it, if he loves you and you love him, what else matters? Sure, it's unorthodox. You'll have to make up the road as you go along, and you'll both have to make sacrifices to make it work. But that shouldn't stop you from trying." She smiled at Mattie, who had finally managed to get the dry t-shirt on.

"There, now you're fit to hug." She jumped off the table and put her arms around the younger woman. "Don't worry, sweetie," she said. "You and Bee have a chance at something good here. Just go with it."

Mattie hugged her back. "Thanks, Viv."

* * *

When Mattie came back out of the office, Bee and Izzy had decked for lunch on a large flat crate.

"Surprise!" Bumblebee grinnned.

"We thought you should have lunch," Izabella announced.

"We thought you should have breakfast," Bumblebee corrected.

"That's right," Mattie realized. "I completely forgot to eat breakfast. I brought it, but I must have left it somewhere."

"The cliff top," Bumblebee confirmed. "I'll bet it's rained away by now."

"Well, this is too much for just me," Mattie said. "Even considering that I haven't eaten since last night."

"Well, I'm ravenous," Viviane announced. "And I haven't had homecooked Mexican food since – well, ever. Mind if I join you?"

Mattie gestured at all the little boxes. "Go ahead. You too, Iz."

Bumblebee sat down next to them. "That smells… interesting."

"It tastes absolutely wonderful," Viviane replied. "You're great at this, Izabella."

"Thanks," the girl replied. "My mother taught me."

"It's delicious," Mattie agreed. "You want to try some, Bee?"

He grinned. "Nah. Can't process the stuff. You humans sure eat some strange things."

"Well, thanks. And you don't?" Mattie elbowed him. "Ow."

Bumblebee laughed. "Did you forget again? Metal. That makes for a hard surface."

Mattie giggled and rubbed her elbow. "You're hilarious."

Izabella had been looking from Mattie to Bumblebee and back. Suddenly, she clapped her hands to her mouth and giggled.

"Oh my god! That's it! Oh, wooow!"

Mattie stared at her. "Um. Izzy? You okay there?"

"I totally just got it!" Izzy said. She pointed to Mattie, then to Bumblebee. "You guys. You're together, aren't you?"

Bumblebee froze. He looked at Mattie. "Um…"

"I…" Mattie said.

"Well, that's a novel idea," Viviane said, looking at Izzy. "Whatever makes you say that?"

Izzy grinned. "It's the way he looks at her. Bee looks at Mattie the same way my father used to look at my mother." She pointed at him with a piece of chicken. "Don't bother denying it, you know I'm right."

Bee looked Mattie. "I don't know…"

Mattie bit her lip. "Izzy – okay, you're right. But it's – well, we haven't quite figured it out yet. How to handle it."

"Oh, calm down, guys!" Izabella giggled. "Okay, so it's a bit weird, but it's brilliant!"

"Um." Mattie looked at her. "It is?"

Izabella nodded energetically. "It's absolutely great! Don't you see? If my best friend is an Autobot, and your boyfriend is an Autobot -"

Mattie giggled. "We need to figure out the terminology here, boyfriend sounds strange."

"- then maybe people won't be afraid of them anymore!" Izabella finished.

Mattie shook her head. "That would have been great. But I'm afraid what we have here is more of a 'they ruined our land, now they're stealing our women' kind of situation."

"That's probably correct," Viviane agreed. "The Autobots are strangers. Granted, the society is a planet instead of a village, but the standard situation still applies. Any newcomer is viewed with suspicion, and more so if they're superior to the natives. The Cybertronians have proven themselves strong fighters, not to mention they're all – mostly - bigger than humans. So we fear being stomped on, we fear being outfought, and if this becomes known we'll also fear losing our biological advantage." She looked at Bumblebee. "Sorry. I mean 'we' as in 'the rest of my uneducated stuck-in-the-past species'."

"I get it," Bee replied.

Izabella's face fell. "Oh. I guess you're probably right." Then she brightened again. "It's still great though. Even if the rest of the world won't get it." She looked around at them. "So who else knows? I need to know so I don't accidentally spill the beans on you guys."

Bumblebee moved a little closer to Mattie. "Optimus knows, but not the details. He knows what each of us feel, but not that we decided to act on it."

"Obviously, I know," Viviane said. "And I'm as thrilled as you are, Iz." She grinned. "I feel like I'm watching history in the making here. I mean, I know it's happened before, but these guys weren't publically known back then. This is groundbreaking."

Mattie grinned at her. "Well, it's good we have a trained researcher on hand to witness our scientific progress."

"And Cade knows," Bumblebee said. "He's been helpful, actually." He touched Mattie's hair gently. "Are you still mad at him for telling me?"

Mattie leaned into his hand. "No, not really. We probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere without him."

Izabella was smiling at them. Then she suddenly stared at Viviane. "Did you say that this has happened before?"

"Oh, yes," Viviane replied. "At least thirty times. Cybertronians have been on Earth for more than two thousand years, you know. And humans have always been xenophiles."

"Xenophiles?" Izabella asked curiously.

"People who are attracted to beings different from themselves," Viviane explained. "Let's see. Ancient mythology is full of it – centaurs, demigods, sea creatures, you name it. And it's continued into modern popular culture. 'Avatar' – you know, the movie - might be the best parallel, but there are plenty of examples. People loving mutants. People loving furry people or hybrid people. People loving vampires or werewolves."

"There are people loving aliens with six boobs in Star Wars – extended universe," Izzy said. "Same thing?"

"Yeah," Mattie said. "That fits too."

"And people do like the Autobots too," Izzy said. "You should see them when we're in town, they draw a crowd."

"That so?" Mattie turned to Bumblebee with a mischievous grin. "Maybe I'll have to come with you and Hot Rod tonight, make sure nobody steals you away."

He gently pressed his mouth to her hair. "As if anybody could." Then he abrubtly stood up and turned to the north.

"Um. Bee?" Mattie said, confused.

"Wait," he replied.

Suddenly, he whirled back and paced to the door. "Outing's cancelled. The others are on the way back in. We have trouble."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has cliffhangers. It's Bay-verse, so of course it does. So it's best to just get used to it :)


	15. Chapter 15

"Get back!" Bumblebee called to them. "They're coming in fast!"

Mattie hurriedly headed for the far wall. She could hear the loud roar of multiple car engines coming closer. Then Drift skidded around the corner, with an unfamiliar dark sports car right behind him. Mattie panicked for a moment until she realized it had to be Hot Rod. As soon as Hot Rod was clear of the doorway, the Hound came roaring into the hangar. Crosshairs followed, drifting around the corner just as Hot Rod came to a stop and transformed. The last Autobot to arrive was Optimus Prime, with Cade behind the wheel, but a small military jeep came in behind them. Colonel Lennox was driving.

Lennox jumped out of the car just as all the others had transformed. He nodded at Mattie and the others, and then looked at the Autobots. They were standing around him in a loose semicircle. Bumblebee had moved to stand near Mattie.

"Hey, guys." Lennox said. "So we have a problem. Berserker's out."

There was an audible murmur going around the room. Drift hissed.

"Berserker?" Cade asked. "He's in maximum security! How the hell did he get out?"

"Apparently, one of his constraints failed, and then he massacred his way out of there," Lennox replied grimly.

"He must have had outside help," Crosshairs said.

"We think so too," Lennox said. "Those restraints were failsafe. Each on a separate circuit, controlled mechanically from inside a separate building, impossible to hack."

"But one failed," Drift growled. "And you lost him."

"Yup. And so far he's ripped his way through three farms and one small town, heading here. His path is straight as a ruler, he's shown no sign that he'll deviate. So we have to assume that his target-" Lennox paused and looked at them. "- his target is you. And he's coming now."

Hound clenched his servos. "So we take him down."

"By any force necessary," Lennox confirmed. "We won't be sorry if you kill him."

Optimus looked at him. "Is the army in on this?"

"Everything that's within shouting distance," Lennox said. "But let's remember that there's a city just south of here with three hundred thousand inhabitants. We'll want to keep him away from there. He'll be after collateral damage, and we can't let him turn this into a war zone. Killing people is just his thing, so we need to keep him as far from the civilians as possible."

Mattie felt faint. She leaned over to Viviane. "I'm a civilian."

"Yes, you are," Viviane whispered back. "But you're mad if you think Bumblebee will let Berserker anywhere near you. Look at the way Bee's standing. Right now, part of his mind is planning how to best protect you."

Mattie looked at Bee, and then the other Transformers. Viviane was right. Hot Rod and Crosshairs looked alert, Drift was furious, Optimus was solemn and Hound looked eager. Bumblebee, on the other hand, was standing slightly crouched, turned enough away from her that he had her behind him but still could see her from the corner of his eye. His hands were balled into fists.

She wanted to go to him so badly it hurt.

After a moment, she forced herself to look away. Lennox and Prime were discussing tactics, it seemed.

"… so we can lure him into this corridor here, and if you guys are waiting here, and here –" Lennox was pointing at a map unit he held in his hand "- we should be able to stop him from getting nearer to the city, and hopefully end it."

Optimus nodded. "It seems sound – as sound as anything can be when we're dealing with Berserker."

Lennox caught Mattie looking at him. "But what of the girls?"

"They'll stay here," Cade said. "They're not fighters."

Bumblebee raised his head. "We can't leave them undefended."

"We cannot post an Autobot here with them," Optimus replied, looking at him. "That will be a clear beacon to Berserker, and he will head straight for it. A single Autobot left here will look like an easy target. More than one, and he'll head here for sure."

"Bee's right, though," Cade said. "We can't leave them here undefended. What if Berserker heads here instead of attacking where you want him to?"

"I can leave my guys here," Lennox said. "The place will still look empty, but the civilians will be protected."

"That's a good plan," Optimus said, looking at Bee. After a moment, Bee nodded grudgingly. "Good," Optimus continued. "Have your men confer with Bumblebee, colonel. He's thought this kind of scenario through."

 _Optimus noticed the same thing Viviane did_ , Mattie thought. _Bee's been planning how best to defend me, and now Optimus is using that plan. That's clever._

Lennox nodded. "Okay. Permission to order your men, Optimus?" The tall Autobot nodded, and Lennox raised his voice. "All right, you know what to do and what's at stake here. Let's arm up and move out."

"To the armory!" Hound bellowed.

As quick as they'd arrived, they left. Soon, the only ones left were Bumblebee and the humans. The whole thing had taken less than ten minutes.

"Bee," Mattie said. He turned.

Some of her panic must have shown on her face, because suddenly she found herself fifteen feet up in the air with his mouth pressed to hers. There was nothing gentle about this kiss, and he was holding her against him tight enough to drive all her breath out of her. After what seemed to be an eternity, he loosened his hold somewhat.

"Don't be scared," he whispered. "I will never, ever, ever let anything hurt you."

She clung to him. "But what if he hurts you? What if you don't come back to me?"

"I won't let anything take me away from you either. Besides," he continued grimly, "we're six Autobots and the US army. That should be enough to handle one Decepticon. Even if it is Berserker."

He pulled her tightly and kissed her again. "Don't worry, angel. I'll always come back to you." Then he put her down and left.

Mattie stood in the middle of the room looking after him. Her heart was racing, and she suspected it wasn't only because she was terrified. Viviane came up and put an arm around her.

"If ever there was any doubt that that one truly loves you," she said quietly, "that should put that to rest. Don't be scared for him, sweetie. He's trained for this and has been doing it for longer than you've been alive. Besides," she added, "Cade and Optimus will be looking after him. They also want him to come back to you."

Mattie squeezed her hand. Izabella came up and took hold of her other hand.

Optimus entered the hangar and walked over to them. He knelt down on one knee in front of them and looked at Mattie. She looked at him cautiously – the tall, powerful leader of the Autobots always made her a little nervous.

"You need to hide, and keep yourself hidden," he said. "Keep your head down and listen to the soldiers."

"I thought the plan was that Berserker should ignore this place and go straight past us," Viviane said.

"Yes. That is the plan." Optimus stood. "But Berserker doesn't know that." He turned and left.

* * *

A little while later, Mattie and the others were following a group of soldiers towards a storage building at the center of the compound. Bee had chosen the storage building because of its location, and the fact that it was full of old aircraft parts and so offered plenty of hideouts. The Autobots had already left, taking the rest of the soldiers with them.

Soon, Mattie had hunkered down behind a shelf towards the back of the building. She could see the doorway, and the locations where Izabella and Viviane had hidden away. She could even make out where the four soldiers hid – the other two were outside, on the rooftops.

There was nothing to do for her but wait. She sat very still, but the room was cold, and her hair was still wet from the rainstorm, so she soon started freezing. She hoped the others were faring better than she was.

She had been sitting still for what seemed like a day but was actually just over an hour and a half when she heard faint noises outside. After a few moments, she identified them as running footsteps. Large footsteps, several sets. Then there was an ear-splitting roar. She hurriedly covered her ears with her hands.

_That was a Dinobot! I thought they were supposed to be safely hidden away from the public in the other end of the compound. Why are they here?_

The next noise sent chills running down her back. It was a voice.

"Run, run, little dinosaur," it said and sniggered. "Better target practice for Berserker." There was a bang and a loud yelp. "That's more like it."

There was a distant roar, so loud and intense that it felt like it had its own mass. Mattie had never heard it before. _I'll bet that was Grimlock, though_. _He sounds pissed_. The footsteps outside came closer.

"More dinosaurs, but no pesky Autobots. Left their little bases all undefended, the cowards." He sniffed. "I smell humans."

Mattie suddenly realized she was trembling. She raised her head slightly, and looked toward the other hiding places. Nobody was moving.

She could hear another set of footsteps – someone was coming up fast. Then there was another ear-splitting roar, this one loud enough to make the shelf she was hiding behind vibrate. _Yup, that's definitely Grimlock. Berserker must have taken down one of the minis._

"Finally," Berserker laughed wildly. "Some real opposition!"

The next few moments passed in a blur. A long tail came smashing through the wall over Mattie's head. Someone was firing – apparently, Berserker was close enough that the two soldiers on the rooftops risked shooting at him. Berserker bellowed, and something large smashed through the roof of the building they were hiding in. One of the soldiers came down into the building along with the collapsing roof; he landed a few feet from Mattie's hideout, facing her with unseeing eyes. She buried her head in her arms again.

"I shall rip you to pieces!" Berserker screamed. Grimlock answered with a vicious snarl. Berserker's weapon disappeared from the ceiling again with a wrenching sound, and Grimlock yelped. Then Berserker roared in pain.

"My arm! I'm going to tear you to shreds!"

Mattie pushed her fists towards her ears. _No, no more, please go away, I don't want to die yet. Oh, Bumblebee, where are you?_

As if the thought had been a call out, suddenly there was a roar of car engines.

"Berserker!" It was Optimus' loud voice. "You shall pay for this!"

"Crazy Decepticon!" Drift snarled.

Someone fired a gun. Berserker laughed wildly.

"Finally come to play, have you?"

"Playtime's over, tin-can," Crosshairs called from a distance. There was an explosion.

"Hah!" Berserker cried. "As if that would stop me! I'll rip out your innards, and then I'll suck the marrow from the bones of these pesky little humans you're hiding here! Oh yes, I can smell them!"

"You're dead, Decepticon!" Bumblebee's voice was twisted with fury. There was the heavy sound of two large figures colliding.

 _Oh, Bee, what are you doing? Don't let him goad you!_ Mattie sobbed into the sleeves of her borrowed shirt.

"Bumblebee, move!" Hot Rod called. "Like old times, my friend!"

Suddenly, there was a loud-pitched screeching sound. Berserker howled.

"There! Not so 'ot wizout zat arm, are you, you mad dog?" Hot Rod laughed. "Bee, are you all right?"

"Not – yet," Bumblebee grunted. "Get him – down first."

Berserker screamed with fury. "I'll rip your spark out with my teeth! Autobot trash! And then I'll find your humans and feed them to the baby dinosaurs!" He cackled wildly. "If there are any left!"

_He's mad! Oh Bee, please be careful!_

"It's over, Berserker!" Optimus called. "Surrender now, and your life may be spared!"

"Hah!" Berserker screeched. "You surrender, Autobot, and maybe I'll just eat _you_!" He continued screaming wordlessly.

"Move, Bumblebee!" Drift called.

There was a wrenching sound, and then the sharp noise of metal slicing metal. Berserker's mad howling suddenly cut off.

The silence was deafening.

"Well, that's good and done," Crosshairs said. "Is he down for good?"

A sharp slam followed. It sounded like a kick.

"'E's never getting up again," Hot Rod said. "Not much left of 'im, anyway. Zat is impressive blade work, my clever friend."

"Well done," Optimus said. "But the work's not over yet. Crosshairs, find Cade and round up the Dinobots. Find all the younglings. Drift, find Hound and take care of Grimlock. He's badly wounded." There was the sound of several pairs of running footsteps. "Hot Rod, help me shift Berserker – the way he's fallen, I'm afraid he'll crush the building. It seems he's already made a good start of it."

There was the sound of metal scraping against the rougher surface of the road.

"Zere," Hot Rod said. "We should check if ze humans are all right. Where are zey, Bumblebee?"

"They're in there," Bumblebee said. There was a strange hitching in his voice. "Oh hell, Optimus, they're in there."

There was a brief silence.

"Well, let's get zem out," Hot Rod said.

"Be careful," Optimus cautioned. "Any wrong movement, and the rest of the ceiling will collapse."

"Hello in zere!" Hot Rod called. "Are you all right?"

Mattie carefully, shakily, raised her head enough to see the rest of the room.

It was mayhem. Pieces of the roof had landed everywhere, and the wall that Grimlock's tail had pushed in was leaning dangerously over her head. _Haha_ , she thought wildly. _This is the second time I'm stuck beneath a wall because of a Decepticon._

On the far end of the room, one of the soldiers stood up from his hiding place. He was grasping one shoulder tightly with his other arm. "Ferguson present and standing, sir!" he called. "Be careful, everything's gone to pieces in here. Squad, sound off!"

"Ahmadi present, not standing!" The voice belonged to the soldier shifting out of the rubble near the entrance. "Injury to the leg, sir! Got eyes on Robb, he's gone. Took a piece of rubble to the head."

"Heimling, present and standing!" The man moving out of the shadows seemed to have escaped most of the shrapnel. "Got eyes on one civilian!" He walked over to Izabella's hiding place and gently lifted her prone form out of the chaos. "Strong pulse, but unconscious, seems to have grazed her head. I'll take her out through the front, that's the most solid part of the building."

The door was thrown open. The dark silhouette of a man entered the doorway.

"Viviane! You okay?" Cade called. A stream of men followed him through the doorway, pulling the injured soldiers out of the rubble.

"I'm good!" Viviane coughed. "But I'm stuck!" One of the newcomers ran towards her, following the sound of her voice, but he couldn't beat Cade to it. As the soldier reached her hiding place, she was already resting her head on Cade's shoulder.

Mattie tried to find her voice, but she couldn't seem to make a sound. Her limbs weren't working either.

The man who had fallen from the ceiling was still staring at her with empty eyes. She couldn't take her eyes off him.

"Mattie!" That was Lennox. "Where are you?"

A pair of boots came into view. "Oh, Rossi," Lennox said. "I'm so sorry. I'll see your kid gets to go to college." A pair of fingers closed the dead man's eyes. Then Lennox stood back up. "Mattie!" he called. "Where are you, sweetheart?"

"She was right behind you, sir," the blond soldier called Ferguson called. He was being maneuvered onto a stretcher. "Behind that shelf."

Lennox turned and frowned. "Shit, that wall's going to go." He knelt down again, suddenly looking into her eyes.

"Hey, Mattie," he said. "You're safe now, sweetheart, he's gone, it's over. Medic!" He bellowed over his shoulder.

"You've got them?" That was Bumblebee. "Are they all right?"

"I've lost two of my men, but the civilians are okay. Some cuts and bruises, a few bumps on heads," Lennox replied. "Mattie seems to have gone into shock."

Gently, he reached in and disentangled her arms. "Come on, darling, we need to get you out of here."

 _Yes_ , Mattie thought, and tried to move her arms and legs. But the commands didn't go through, her limbs wouldn't obey.

Lennox solved it by simply picking her up and carrying her to a stretcher. There was an almighty crash behind her.

"Just in time, huh?" The soldier with the white armband shone a light into her eyes and prodded her scalp carefully. "Lucky. Mattie? Honey, can you hear me?" He looked at Lennox. "No external injuries that I can see, so I think you're right. It's been too much for her, poor thing."

"She's never seen fighting before," Optimus rumbled.

"Yeah? Well, based on where she was hiding, I'd say she got more than her fair share now," Lennox said. "Rossi was laying straight in front of her; he must have dropped down from the ceiling and died in front of her eyes. She was staring straight at him. And that wall almost came down on top of her, so she probably heard everything."

"Mattie." Viviane suddenly stood in front of her. "Mattie, sweetie, it's all right. Berserker's dead. We're all right."

Viviane kept talking to her and making soothing noises as Mattie was wheeled outside. Mattie couldn't find it in her to respond. The rain was still falling.

"Is she all right?"

That voice. _I know that voice._

"In shock, we think. Keep talking to her, Bumblebee, it seems she responds to you."

"Mattie? Angel, you're safe. He can't hurt you anymore."

Slowly, she raised her head. She wanted to look at the figure that belonged to that voice.

Bumblebee stood in front of her. There was a large gash down his front. Some sort of fluid was leaking from it. "Mattie?"

She screamed. Then she fainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been accused of liking cliffhangers. This is true. This won't be the last one.  
> *grins evilly*.


	16. Chapter 16

White walls. Mattie rubbed her eyes blearily. She didn't recognize this room.

Her arm hurt. Confused, she turned her head to look at it.

 _Oh. That's why_. There was an IV needle stuck in her arm, the line went up to a bag of clear fluid hanging next to her bed.

_I'm in a hospital. Why am I in a hospital?_

Then it all came crashing back to her. The voices, the screaming, the dead man's eyes. The gash down Bumblebee's chest. She started hyperventilating, and the monitors next to her bed started beeping insistently.

"Easy, easy, honey," a man's voice said. She turned her head towards the voice.

It was Cade, sitting on a stool next to her bed. He smiled. He had a small band-aid on his temple.

"Welcome back. Don't be afraid. Bumblebee's fine. We're all fine."

Mattie opened her mouth. "Where –" she croaked. She had no moisture in her mouth and her tongue didn't want to form words.

Cade reached out and handed her a glass of water that had been standing on the nightstand. "Where are you?" She nodded and drank shakily.

"The military hospital up north," he replied. "We were all brought here. We're fine. Izabella needed some stiches and has a mild concussion. She's a bit disgruntled that she can't watch TV for the next couple of days." He chuckled. "Viviane got struck by falling debris, but aside from some heavy bruises she's all right. And you're mostly unhurt, as far as we can tell. You went into shock. You've been unconscious all day. And most of the night." Mattie looked at the window. It was dark outside.

"The soldiers," Mattie whispered.

"Yes," he said grimly. "The soldiers took the worst of it. We lost half the squad that was watching you – both guys that were stationed on the roof tops and one of the guys inside. He was just damned unlucky."

"They weren't hiding as well as us," Mattie whispered. "Maybe that's why."

"Could well be," he agreed.

"The minibots?" Mattie asked. "And Grimlock?"

"They'll be fine," Cade said. "Needed a bit of patching up, and one of the minis will walk with a limp for a while."

"Grimlock saved our lives," Mattie remembered. "Berserker said "I smell humans", but before he could find us Grimlock attacked him." She shivered. "Grimlock's tail went through the wall."

"So that's how that happened. We wondered about that." He looked at her. "You know, you're probably the only one who caught all this. Viviane was too far away, she could only hear the screaming. So were the soldiers. Izabella says she had her fingers in her ears."

Mattie nodded, and suddenly tears were running down her cheeks. Cade leaned over and hugged her.

"I was so afraid," she sobbed. "I thought I was going to die for sure this time. I thought Bumblebee was going to die."

"It was closer for you than it was for him," Cade said, stroking her back. "He got a superficial wound on his front. Berserker used his teeth. That one was as mad as they come."

She wiped her eyes with her hands. "But I wasn't hurt. Why was it closer for me than for him?"

"I guess you didn't see. The wall that was hanging over you came down as Lennox got you out of there. If you had moved a muscle before that, it would have fallen on you."

"Optimus told me to keep my hand down and stay hidden." Mattie shivered.

"Good thing you obeyed," Cade said. He stood up. "I'll go get a doctor, see if we can't take you home. Someone's waiting for you." He grinned. "Don't make a habit out of this. I don't want to be picking you up from hospital more than once a year."

* * *

Mattie buttoned the last button on her shirt back up. It was a relief to be back in her own clothes.

"You're good to go," the doctor said. Mattie had sat patiently through the examinations, but she wanted to run. "No sign of a concussion or any other trauma. Keep it quiet for the next couple of days, though. You've been through an ordeal."

"We'll take good care of her," Cade said as he helped her get her shoes and jacket on. "Thanks, doc."

Optimus was waiting for them in his alt mode as they came outside, Mattie leaning heavily on Cade.

Cade saw her look. "Bumblebee was here, but he was sent home. He wasn't being helpful. Plus, he needed to get that gash looked at."

"How wasn't he being helpful?" Mattie asked curiously.

"He was pacing up and down, being in the way, trying to get in to see you, peeking through all the windows, even tried to climb the building," Cade replied and snorted. "Stupid Autobot."

"Hello, Mattie," Optimus said. "I'm glad to see you back on your feet."

"Hi, Optimus," she replied shyly. She'd never ridden in the leader of the Autobots before.

Cade grunted as he tried to hoist her into the passenger seat. "Should have asked Crosshairs or Hot Rod," he groaned. "They're closer to the ground."

"I can climb," Mattie complained. "Let me go." She grabbed hold of the seat and pulled herself into the cab. By the time she finally got settled, she was shaking all over.

"Are you sure you should be out of the hospital?" Optimus asked. He fastened the seatbelt around her carefully.

"I'm fine," Mattie said as Cade climbed into the driver's seat. "The doctor cleared me."

"He did," Cade confirmed. "Besides, I think it'll be easier for all concerned to have her back home."

They drove in silence for a while.

"So what happened to Berserker?" Mattie asked. "All I heard was Drift telling Bee to move and then silence."

"Drift happened," Cade answered and grinned.

It took a moment for Mattie to understand. "Oh. He cut his head off."

"Yeah," Cade confirmed. "That's what Drift does. To be fair, he wouldn't have had the chance if Bee and Hot Rod hadn't taken Berserker down a few notches first."

"They tore his arm off," Mattie said. "Didn't they?"

"Yeah. That was a sweet move."

"It's something they worked out together last year," Optimus said. "It's very effective."

"But what happened?" Mattie asked. "Didn't the plan work?"

Cade was quiet for a moment. "It looked like he was going to go for the bait," he said finally. "He even came close to springing the trap. But then he turned, and bolted for the compound. We'll probably never know why. Anyway, we followed him as fast as we could, but by the time we caught up to him he had already ripped through the Dinobot end of the compound and wounded several of them."

"I heard that," Mattie whispered. "He was using the minibots for target practice. That pissed off Grimlock something awful."

"Yeah, it did," Cade agreed. "And thank God for that; Grimlock slowed him down enough that we could catch up to him. He was fast."

They drove in silence the rest of the way.

"You tired?" Cade asked.

Mattie looked at him. "I've slept for nearly twenty-four hours. I do not want to go back to bed already."

"Good, because you need to talk to Lennox," Cade said as they entered the compound. "He needs to debrief you. I'll take you to him first, so you can get that out of the way."

Mattie simply nodded.

* * *

Lennox was sitting behind a desk in one of the smaller buildings. He was still in the clothes she remembered from the day before. He looked about ten years older.

She closed the door behind her. "Hey."

"Hey, Mattie," he said, looking up. "Really good to see you back on your feet."

"Thanks. Optimus said you needed to talk to me."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. Yesterday was a bit of a shambles. It should have been easier, even dealing with Berserker. So I'm trying to piece together exactly what happened. You're sitting on a pretty crucial piece." He gestured to a chair in front of the desk. "Mind if I record our talk?"

"No, that's okay," Mattie replied. She sat down.

"So tell me what you remember," he said, starting the recording. "Start from the top."

"Well, Bee and the soldiers told us to hide in this storage building, so we did," Mattie began. _Man, this feels weird. He knows this already._ "We were supposed to stay there until it was over. But after a while I heard the Dinobots outside – one was roaring, and there was running. And I thought that was weird, because they weren't supposed to be there." She frowned. "So then I heard a voice, complaining that there were no Autobots, just dinosaurs, and that he was going to use them as target practice. He was shooting at them," Mattie remembered. "He talked about himself in third person, which was weird. And then he must have hit one because there was a yelp. And then he said 'I smell humans.'" She shuddered. "That's when Grimlock arrived. They must have started fighting, because suddenly Grimlock's tail ripped right through the wall above my head. Someone was shooting. And Berserker hit the roof of the building with a club or something."

She looked at Lennox. "I'm sorry about that soldier. Rossi? He landed right in front of me, but he was already dead."

Lennox nodded. "Rossi. Thanks."

"You said you were going to make sure his kid got to go to college," Mattie said.

Lennox flashed her a quick grin. "That's true. He has a fifteen-year-old son. Harvey." He gestured to the recording. "Please continue."

"Okay. So… Yeah, Berserker hit the roof. And then Grimlock must have bit him or something, because he screamed. He said his arm hurt. And that's when the Autobots arrived," she finished.

"Do you mind going on? It's always useful to hear several sides of the story."

"Sure. Um. They were shouting at him. And then Crosshairs shot him or something, there was an explosion. Berserker laughed it off. Prime asked him to surrender, but Berserker said he would kill us and feed us to the baby dinosaurs. I guess he meant the Minis. But Bee – Bumblebee – and Hot Rod did something to him, I think they tore his arm off. And then Drift told Bee to move, and Berserker stopped screaming after that." She shrugged. "And then they moved him so the wall wouldn't collapse, and you guys came in and got us."

"No need to go on from there. But I have a few questions, if that's okay."

She nodded. "Shoot."

"You said Berserker was talking. You're sure that was the only voice you heard?"

"Yeah, up until the Autobots arrived," Mattie nodded.

"And you're sure it was him?"

Mattie thought about it. "I'm sure it was the same one I heard outside all the time. I've never heard Berserker talk before, but who else could it be? He said 'target practise for Berserker' or some such. And he was the one who was there when the Autobots arrived."

Lennox nodded. "That's true. Did he at any point say something about why he was there?"

Mattie shook her head. "No. He just talked about shooting dinosaurs and killing humans, and when the Autobots arrived he screamed a lot of insults at them." She thought for a moment. "He knew this was their base, though. He said they had left their bases undefended."

Lennox turned the recording off. "Thanks, Mattie. That was very helpful."

"No problem," Mattie said. "It has to be good for something, right?"

He chuckled grimly. "Yeah. And whatever else happened, we got Berserker off the streets."

Mattie looked at him. "What really did happen?"

He sighed. "I don't know. One moment, Crosshairs almost had him right where we wanted him. The next, he took off in the opposite direction like a bat out of hell. Something alerted him. And we don't know what. Add to that the fact that someone helped him escape in the first place…" He frowned. "Let's say it like this, I don't like the implications."

Mattie nodded. "I get it. There's something going on here we don't know about."

"And we can't let that spread," Lennox cautioned her. "Don't tell anyone. I'm only telling you because I think it's fair that you know considering you live here."

"I appreciate it. Thanks." She stood up to leave.

"Oh, by the way, Bumblebee's waiting for you in the main hangar," Lennox said casually. Too casually. When she paused and looked at him, he smiled. "I can see what's going on with you two, you know. Don't worry, I won't tell a soul. I won't claim to understand, but the way I see it, it's your business and nobody else's."

"Um. Thanks," Mattie said. "I guess." He was chuckling as she closed the door behind her.

* * *

The main hangar seemed empty at first sight. She entered cautiously.

"Um. Anyone here?" _Maybe he left_. "Bee?"

A shadow unfolded in the far corner. "Mattie?"

"Bee!"

The next moment she was running. She hadn't gone ten steps before he caught her up in his arms and suddenly she was flying.

"Whoa! Bee, put me down!" She giggled. "Are you trying to send me back to hospital?"

"Like I would ever drop you," he laughed. He lowered her down until her face was level with his and she was kneeling on his chest. "Better?"

She grinned. "Thanks."

He pulled her close and kissed her. When he finally broke it off, she was breathless.

"You're getting quite good at that," she breathed.

He grinned wickedly. "Come on, beautiful. Let's go for a ride."


	17. Chapter 17

They were back on their spot. This time, because the storm had felled some trees and made the way to the cliff top impassable, Bee had sat down on the pebble beach with his back against the rocky cliff face. Mattie was lying across his chest with her head up against his shoulder. She was wrapped in a quilt – the sun was just rising, and the air was cold.

"There's a phrase you humans use that I was wondering about," Bee said. "To see red. Do you know what it means?"

Mattie nodded. "It means to be very angry. Supposedly, it's possible to get to such a state of fury that your vision is tinted with red. I've never experienced it. But that's where the phrase comes from."

Bumblebee nodded slowly. "I get that. I was so furious when Berserker threatened you; I think I could have ripped his head off with my teeth." He chuckled. "Sort of what he tried to do to me."

Mattie gently touched the thin line of solder running down his chest. "Did it hurt?"

He shrugged. "I suppose it did, there and then, but I didn't notice. It stung like hell afterwards though." He grinned.

"Berserker tried to rip you in half with his teeth, and you didn't notice?" Mattie said incredulously. She twisted and looked up at him.

He shook his head. "To be honest, when I heard what he was saying and saw where he was standing…" He looked at her. "And when he was down, and I saw the state of the building? I've never been so terrified in my life. And I've seen some terrifying stuff. There was no room in my head for anything else."

"I know what you mean," Mattie said, gently stroking his chest. "I was so scared I could hardly breathe. And just when I thought we were done for, you came." She smiled. "You came back."

He kissed her head. "I'll always come back. In fact, I've got something for you. To prove it."

He reached down and picked up a tiny drawstring pouch. "You know, I've been fighting Decepticons for centuries now," he said thoughtfully. "I'm always being sent here and there, wherever there's need of us. This time it was our own backyard, but next time it might be the other side of the world, or the moon. Or even Cybertron. That's why I wanted you to have this. So you know I'll always come back to you." He handed her the pouch.

Carefully, she untied the string and emptied the contents out on her hand. It was a necklace – a small, silver and gold bumblebee hanging on a silver chain. She held it up against the light.

"Wow, this is beautiful! The details are amazing – look at the wings! Thanks, Bee! Where did you find this?" She fastened it around her neck.

"On the net. Viviane helped me, she and Drift went and got it for me last night." He grinned crookedly. "I now owe Drift two nights' patrolling. Anyway, the pendant is handmade, so it's one of a kind." He smiled. "It looks good on you."

"But how could you afford it?" Mattie said, gently touching the pendant. "I thought you guys weren't earning a salary."

He grinned. "Apparently, we're getting some form of bounty fee for taking down Berserker. Lennox told me. Viviane lent me the money in the meantime."

"It's gorgeous." Mattie leaned up against him. "Thanks, Bee."

"You're welcome, beautiful." He started stroking her – one digit lazily going from her leg up across her back and up to her head, then back again.

They sat silent while the sun rose and the world came to life around them.

"Ask you something?" Bumblebee said after a while.

Mattie sat up. "Sure, go ahead."

"This kissing thing." He hesitated. "The last couple of times I've done that, you've reacted differently. It seems like you have difficulty breathing afterwards, and you seem to get all weak, but still you say we're getting good at it."

Mattie blushed, smiling. "Good observation. Yeah, both those things are true." _The sex talk with an Autobot. How the hell do I explain this?_ She leaned back. "You see, among humans, kissing often leads to – other things."

He thought about it. Then he grinned. "Oh, I get it. It's triggering a biological response."

She giggled. "That's a very clinical phrase, but it'll do."

He looked at her, curious. "What do humans say?"

This time she blushed furiously. She was sure her face was as red as the clouds above the sunrise. "Um. Well, we say we get turned on."

He grinned. "That's a very mechanical phrase. I like it."

He was silent for a while. Then he grinned again. "So what else turns you on?"

She pulled the blanket up to her chin and giggled. "That's actually a very private question."

"Oh. Sorry." He pulled her around so he could see her face. "I'd still like to know, though. Can I have a general answer?"

"I'll try." She thought about it. Then she sat up. "Okay. Touching is the easiest. You said it yourself, we have sensitive skin. And there are parts of us that react more strongly to touch than others." She paused.

"Like?" he prompted after a moment.

"Um. It varies a bit from person to person, I think." She looked up at him. "Why do you want to know?"

He shrugged awkwardly, trying not to jostle her. "Not sure, really. It just seems I should know these things about you."

"Okay then, turn for turn. Do Transformers like to be touched?"

He grinned. "That's fair, I guess. Sure, it's always nice. But I'm not sure we have the same drive for it as you do."

She twisted in his arms and grinned mischievously at him. "Let me check."

Gently, she traced a finger across the contours of his face, across his mouth, down his neck to his chest. There, she paused.

He understood. "Here. I'll show you." He took her arm and guided it gently. Her fingers travelled across yellow panels and into dark crevices, over shiny chrome and sharp edges. He sighed. "It's nice. Some parts are really sensitive-" he guided her fingers underneath the metal plating on his chest "- but they take some getting to."

"What about when you're in your alt mode?" Mattie asked, fingers still exploring the areas under his metal plating. "Any especially sensitive bits then?"

Bee dimmed his optics and smiled. "You have no idea how nice that feels." He leaned back further, giving her better access. "In alt mode, it's a bit different. But I feel it when you touch me – the wheel, the door, the seats, all that. And I can feel when you move in my seat, when you tense and relax, how you're breathing."

"Huh," Mattie said. "It's really quite intimate then, the way you're describing it. Like cuddling." Her fingers explored bumps and curves under the metal.

"I guess," Bee said. "Primus, that feels good. It's hard to focus on anything else. Is that how it feels for you, too? If someone's touching you?"

She paused, and his optics brightened again. "Was that also a private question?"

"Heh." She smiled, looking down at where her hands vanished beneath the yellow metal. "I guess it is. I had to think, is all."

He smiled. "You know, no one's ever touched me like this before. I like how your hands are small enough to go pretty much everywhere. I'm afraid I can't return the favor."

"That's okay," Mattie giggled. "We'll figure something out. And I think it might be the same for me, just more intense – the body kind of takes over, you know? So the brain doesn't have control anymore."

He grinned. "I'm still in control, I think."

"How do you know that this area would be this sensitive to touch, if no one's touched you here before?" Mattie asked, continuing her exploring under the metal.

"I know it's sensitive, I just didn't know how good this would feel. Hang on." He moved further down, and lay down flat on his back with his head up against the boulders.

As he stretched, Mattie could see the bits of him she had been touching. The shiny metal was silky smooth and warm under her fingers. She leaned down and kissed him there, and he sighed contentedly. _So smooth_. Suddenly, impulsively, she stuck her tongue out and licked the spot he'd been stroking.

Bumblebee spasmed. "Whoa! Holy pit!"

Mattie stared at him anxiously. "Was that bad?"

He stared at her, a surprised look on his face. "It was intense! Like you shocked me or something."

She looked down. "Sorry. I didn't mean-"

He sat up and took her hands in one of his. "Don't get me wrong. It was really surprising, but it also felt really good."

She smiled tentatively. "So... okay, then?"

He grinned. "Definitely." He stretched up and kissed her hair. "Love you, angel."

Mattie lay down across his chest. "I love you too, Bee."

* * *

She must have fallen asleep, because suddenly the sun was high overhead and it was uncomfortably warm inside her blanket. She sat up groggily and looked around.

Bee seemed to be out too – his optics were dimmed. The day had gotten warm, hot even, and she was sweaty. She climbed down from Bumblebee and walked down to the water. Impulsively, she stripped off everything but her bumblebee necklace, and hung her clothes in a tree to get them aired. Naked, she waded into the water.

It was icy cold. She broke up in goosebumps all over. The current was less strong now that the tide had gone out, but she still stayed in the shallows. After a few quick swim strokes, she disappeared down under the water.

It was peaceful under the surface. She had grown up swimming in the shallow pools near their home in Brittany, and though the sea was different it still felt like home. Sometimes she felt more at home in the water than on land.

Regardless, the water was really cold. Mattie broke the surface already shivering. And turned to find that Bumblebee was staring at her.

She had a momentary impulse to cover herself. _Screw that. He'll take me as I am._ Instead of hiding her breasts behind her hands, she reached up to brush the long wet hair out of her eyes. Her nipples were so hard against the cold it hurt.

"Thought you were asleep," she said.

"Um." He replied. "Yeah. Well. You left, so I woke up."

"Sorry," she grinned mischievously. "Got hot."

He coughed. "Totally. I mean, yeah. I get that."

 _Oh my God, he's totally being a guy! Didn't know he could be that way. Let's see how far it goes._ Slowly, she began walking towards him, out of the water. Her wet hair fell down across her shoulder, nearly but not quite covering one breast. Her belly button came out of the water, then her hips.

Bumblebee stared. "Um. Er. You want a…" He fell silent again, still staring.

She grinned. "That sentence going anywhere?"

"Huh?"

 _Jesus, this is hilarious_. "Did I want a..?" she prompted. Her knees came out of the water.

"Um. Blanket?" He tore his gaze from her with difficulty and looked around. "There's no towel."

"That's okay, I'll dry off in the sun." She stretched languorously, enjoying the sight of his optics focusing on her, his mouth slightly open. "Or am I distracting you?"

"Um. Yeah. I mean no. Sure, the sun. Yeah."

She couldn't hold it anymore. Suddenly she was bent over, holding her arms to her middle, laughing so hard it hurt.

"What's so funny?" He sounded offended.

She straightened with difficulty, still giggling. "You are, Bee. You claim your race doesn't have a biological response, but look at you." She pointed at him, exposing one of her breasts again. " _Something_ is responding to me in there."

He chuckled, sounding embarrassed. "I guess. I mean, you're absolutely stunning. I can barely think."

She walked up to him, touched his arm gently. "Maybe you have a biological response after all."

He shrugged. "Who knows." He looked her over, deliberately this time. "You look amazing."

She grinned.

"You also look cold," he said, holding up the blanket.

She caved. It wasn't nearly as warm as the sun made it look, and her hair was dripping ice-cold water down her back. "Really cold. Thanks."

She threw the blanket around herself, and crawled up in his lap.

He stroked her back. "So what was all that about?"

"I was hot. And then you stared at me. It was a lot of bravado, really." She grinned and snuggled up against him. "And it was fun."

"No argument from me." Gently, his digit teased in under the blanket. He started stroking her back, and she shivered.

"Sorry. Cold digit?"

"No, don't stop. It's not the temperature." She grinned. "It's the touching."

"Oh, yeah. Biological response." He chuckled. "I think we need to figure out how we're going to work around that."

"Or with it." Mattie giggled. And then her tummy rumbled. "Oh, crap." She clapped a hand to her mouth. "I've forgotten to eat. Again."

"Maybe I'll have to start carrying around a lunch box for you," he joked.

She sat up. The blanket slid down around her waist. "I should get dressed. I haven't eaten since yesterday morning."

"You're probably right," he agreed. "Unfortunately. We'll have to figure this out later."

"Yeah." She leaned down and kissed the exposed metal on his chest again. He trembled. "Later."


	18. Chapter 18

"Cade, I want to talk to Grimlock."

Cade straightened. Mattie was standing in the doorway, the wind pulling her hair across her face. He turned his blowtorch off.

"You what?"

"I want to talk to Grimlock," she repeated.

"Huh." He walked around the desk. "'Lock's still really pissed. He's not that much fun to be around, to be honest. Have you talked to Bumblebee about this?"

She pursed her lips, then looked away.

 _I didn't think so._ "I don't think Bee would want you close to Grimlock right now. He hasn't healed up that much in a week, and he's still on a rampage."

"Well, Bee left with Lennox and the other Autobots on some sort of mission. Who knows when they'll be back."

"I see. And you're bored, is that it? Fancy a little more action? Oh, don't give me that look, honey," he said when she frowned at him. He wiped his hands on a rag. "Grimlock is usually okay, but he's in a rage over last week and the attack on the Minibots. I don't think he'd be happy to be bothered, to tell you the truth."

She fingered the silver chain around her neck. "I won't be a bother. I just want to talk to him."

"Why?" Cade looked at her.

To his surprise, her lower lip started trembling. She looked at him defiantly, though. _This girl is tough._

"I want to thank him. If he hadn't shown up, I think Berserker would have killed us."

Cade found himself smiling. "If that's all, I think we can arrange it. Let me just arrange it first."

She nodded, clearly relieved. "Thanks. When are we going?"

"I'll let you know, okay?"

She nodded and left.

Cade bent down to finish his welding, but the weld just didn't behave the way he wanted it to. _Damn it, have to start over. Drift's going to have to live without this one a while longer._ He turned the torch off again and looked around the workshop. It was very empty. Viviane had left three days earlier, and this time she had taken Izzy and Sqweeks with her for a holiday _. I miss her like crazy. Shame she won't live here._

He frowned. _So the kid wants to see Grimlock, huh?_ He picked up his phone.

It rang twice, then a man's voice answered. "Yeah?"

"Hey, Lennox. Optimus around?"

"Right here. Hold on, I'm putting you on speaker." _So they're driving_. "Okay, shoot."

"Prime, it's me," Cade said. "Bumblebee anywhere near you?"

"You ask me for Prime, and you ask Prime for Bee?" Lennox asked, sounded a little irritated.

"He's up on point with Drift," Optimus said. "He can't hear you. Is something wrong with Mattie?"

"No, not really," Cade replied. "She just asked for a favor, is all. She wants to go see Grimlock."

There was silence in the other end.

"She wants to go see Grimlock," Lennox replied disbelievingly.

"Grimlock is still not healed completely," Prime said. "He may frighten her."

"That's what I'm afraid of too," Cade said. "But she's really tough. And 'Lock listens to me." He thought about it. "Mostly."

"Bumblebee would not allow it," Prime said.

"I know," Cade said. "But let's face it, Bee isn't exactly rational when it comes to Mattie."

Lennox chuckled. "So I'm right about those two."

"That's why I think, if she should meet Grimlock, she should do it without Bee," Cade continued. "Bee'll give off the wrong vibes."

"That's probably correct," Optimus replied.

"Why does she want to see Grimlock?" Lennox said.

"She wants to thank him. For saving her and the others last week. Frankly, I owe him thanks for that too," Cade said. "I thought I could go with her."

"That's honorable," Optimus rumbled. "I do not think he will react badly to her. As long as you are with her, I give it my approval. I assume that's why you called."

"It was," Cade said. "Thanks, Prime. I'll pop over there with her tomorrow."

"Remind me why she hasn't met Grimlock before," Lennox said. "She has to be the only one."

"We thought he would scare her, and so did she, so she didn't want to," Prime said. "She was terrified of all of us at first, and we thought Grimlock would be by far the most terrifying."

Lennox snorted. "This girl's probably grown up watching Jurassic Park and worse. I think she'll be fine."

"Thanks, guys," Cade hung up the phone. Then he dialed another number.

"Hey, Mattie. Listen, we'll go see him tomorrow, okay? Meet me here at ten. No, that's fine, he'll listen to me. See you then."

* * *

The next day, Cade was waiting in one of the military cars when Mattie showed up. "Hi," she said a little breathlessly as she climbed into the jeep. "Sorry I'm late."

"No problem," Cade said as he drove out towards the other end of the compound. "We're in no hurry. You nervous?" He glanced sideways at her.

"A bit," she admitted. "But I'll be fine."

"Grimlock can come across as a bit rough, especially when he's hurt. He may roar at you," Cade cautioned.

"That's okay. I've heard him roar before, and then I was in real danger. I'm fairly safe today."

He chuckled at that.

They drove on until they came to a large building with tall fences on either side. Cade stopped the car. "The Dinobot compound," he announced. "Come on."

He walked over and opened the door, letting Mattie enter behind him.

The building was a long hangar of sorts, but most of the roof had been ripped away. The far end wall was gone too, leaving the building as more of a fence than actual shelter.

"Yo, Grimlock!" Cade called. "You here, bud?"

There was a roar from outside, and two smallish metal dinosaurs came thundering around the far corner. Smallish only compared to the really big one that walked in behind them.

Cade laughed. "Hey, guys! Wow, you've gotten so big!" The baby Dinobots he'd once had sleeping under his bed were now the size of camper vans.

Mattie giggled behind him. "Mini no more, I'll say!"

At the sound of her voice, both of the smaller Dinobots stopped dead in their tracks. Grimlock sniffed the air cautiously.

Cade grinned, and pulled Mattie forward by the hand. "Guys, this is Mattie. She's one of us."

Watching the girl carefully from the corner of her eye, he pushed her gently forward. She was smiling. _Like a kid seeing Santa. Guess this one likes dinosaurs._

"Hey, you guys," Mattie cooed to the Minis. "Wow, look at you!"

She walked towards them on her own, holding her hands forward palms up. _Like she's approaching a wild horse or something. Not a bad tactic._

The small T-Rex took a step forward and sniffed. Then he growled.

"Oh, don't be like that," Mattie said before Cade had a chance to say something. "I'm nice, I promise. Nothing to worry about." She didn't move forward, though.

Grimlock came forward, so Cade walked up to stand next to Mattie again. He was not quite sure the big 'bot wouldn't try anything.

"Hey, 'Lock," he called. "How're you holding up?"

Grimlock snorted.

"Yeah. Dumb question, I know."

Mattie turned to Cade. "Where's the last one?"

He looked around. "Terry's probably out flying somewhere. He does that."

The mini T-Rex walked another step closer to Mattie. She held out her hand.

"Come on, you. You're not scared of me, are you? I'm a little tiny human, and you're a big strong Dinobot."

Rex opened his mouth and roared at her. Mattie took a step back. Then she frowned at the Dinobot. "Yeah? Well, that's what you think. Knock it off."

_Wow. And we were worried she would be scared of them._

"Yeah, knock it off," Cade echoed. "This is Bumblebee's special girl. Be nice."

The Dinobot turned and stomped off.

Cade looked at Mattie. She was grinning. "That one has a temper on him, doesn't he?"

"Sometimes," Cade said, somewhat surprised. "You know, I thought you would be at least a little scared."

She shook her head, still grinning. "I was, before. But look at how cool they are. I'm more awed than scared." She turned her gaze to the remaining Mini. "You're the one that was hurt, aren't you?"

The Mini grunted, and walked towards her. His head was level with hers. When he was just a few feet from her, he stopped and grunted again.

She walked the last bit towards him and raised her hand. "Hey, you," she murmured. "You're amazing. I'm so sorry he hurt you." Gently, slowly, she rested her hand against his head. "There's my good boy." The Dinobot lowered his head and mewled.

Cade grinned.

Mattie was rubbing the mini's face. She looked up at Grimlock. "Hey, Grimlock. I'm Mattie."

The big Dinobot made a rumbling noise.

"I want to thank you. I don't know if you know this, but when you arrived to take on Berserker, you probably saved my life. I was hiding in the building next to him, the one your tail went through. If you hadn't arrived when you did, he would have found us. I know you came because of these guys-" she indicated the Minis "- but I wanted you to know that I'm really grateful even so."

"I owe you thanks for that too, 'Lock," Cade said. "You saved several lives that morning, including Viviane's."

Grimlock looked from one to the other. Then he transformed. Suddenly, in place of the dinosaur, there was a robot the size of a skyscraper.

"Okay, now I'm scared," Mattie whispered, wide-eyed. Cade put a comforting arm around her.

Grimlock knelt down on one knee. "You good," he rumbled. The voice was so deep Cade could feel it in his bones. "Brave. Grimlock happy to help."

Mattie smiled. Her lower lip trembled slightly. _I don't think 'Lock can see that._

The big figure turned his gaze to Cade. "Cade," he rumbled. "Thank you for helping fixing Minis. And fixing Grimlock."

"The least I can do, my friend. You know that."

Grimlock lowered his hand to the ground. "Mattie. Come."

She shot a terrified look at Cade. He motioned her on, smiling, but feeling a bit worried. _If Grimlock drops her or something, Bumblebee will kill me. Several times._

Mattie climbed onto the big hand. Each finger was bigger than she was. Grimlock lifted her carefully until she was level with his head.

_She must be eighty feet in the air._

He could hear the low rumble that indicated that Grimlock was telling her something, but he couldn't make out the words. After a moment, the hand came back down. Cade discreetly raised his phone and took some pictures, hoping Mattie would be recognizable in them.

Mattie climbed back down off the giant hand. She seemed a bit shaky.

Grimlock straightened again, then transformed. The big Dinobot leaned down and licked her face from chin to hairline. _Another Kodak moment._

"Thanks, Grimlock, but ew," she laughed.

The Dinobot rumbled, then turned and left. The mini walked over to Mattie again and rubbed his head against her. She threw her arms around it. Cade raised his phone again and grinned.

Mattie was being licked again. She was giggling. "Yeah, I love you too, monkey. But stop that."

The mini nuzzled her once more, then turned and walked away. Then he turned and looked at her again.

"Yeah, don't worry, bud, I'll come back and visit you again soon," Mattie said, smiling.

The 'bot huffed and trotted off.

Cade wandered over to her. "So you survived."

"Yeah, that was so cool," she said, still grinning. "Thanks for taking me."

"No problem," he chuckled. "Now, let's get you home so you can change into something that doesn't have robot saliva."

* * *

"Hey, guys," Lennox called. "Come see. Cade sent me some pictures."

They were resting up after a long day in an empty military barracks. The Autobots gathered behind him, and Lennox sent the pictures to the big screen in one end of the room. "You have to see this, it's awesome."

The first picture was of a grinning girl hugging a big metal head.

"Is that Mattie?" Drift asked. "With one of the Minis?"

Bee stared. "It is," he said. He looked at Lennox. "Cade sent you this?"

"Yeah," Lennox replied, walking over to the Autobot. "Apparently, they've been down to visit the Dinobots today. Mattie wanted to thank Grimlock for intervening with Berserker last week."

He clicked to the next picture. Hot Rod whistled.

Mattie was riding thirty feet in the air, barely visible, sitting in Grimlock's giant servo.

Optimus laid a hand on Bumblebee's arm. Lennox glanced at him. The yellow Autobot was trembling. _Crap, I forgot._

"Relax," Optimus murmured. "She's well and safe. Cade was with her."

Bumblebee nodded, but he didn't relax. "Did you approve this?"

"He asked my permission to take her there, yes. But it was at her request."

"She's got guts!" Hound was roaring with laughter. Lennox grinned and changed the picture again, to one showing Mattie being licked by the giant Dinobot. She was laughing.

"I don't care how scared that girl was in the beginning," Crosshairs said. "She was born to hang with Autobots."

At that, Bumblebee finally relaxed. "Why would she go without me, though?" he muttered to Prime.

"That was Cade's idea," Lennox said quietly. The other Autobots were discussing Mattie riding high in the air on the Dinobot's hand, but he lowered his voice even so. "He thought the risk would be greater with you there."

"Yes," Optimus confirmed. "And I am inclined to agree. Grimlock would no doubt react negatively to your possessiveness of Mattie. It is better that they met for the first time without you."

Bumblebee hung his head. "I suppose you're right." He was still trembling slightly. "Still, I wish I was there." He turned and walked out of the building.

Lennox looked up at the tall Autobot leader. "Want me to handle this, or you?"

"I'll talk to him," Optimus said. He followed Bumblebee out in the darkness.

 _Crap,_ Lennox thought _. Could have handled that better._

"So," a voice said next to him. He turned and looked up at Hound. "What's the deal with Bee and the human girl?"

"There's a deal?" Lennox asked. _Good thing I'm a trained liar._

"Obviously there's a deal," Hound said, gesturing in the direction Bumblebee had walked off. "I've never seen him react like this before. Something's going on."

"Neither have I," Lennox conceded. "Still, I don't see how it's any of my business." He looked at the tall Autobot. "I'm going to hit the sack."

"Yeah, sure, go ahead," Hound said. "Might do that myself soon." Still he stood, staring in the direction Bee and Optimus has gone.

 _Careful now, you two,_ Lennox thought as he walked away. _Not sure the world is ready for you yet._


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm on rocky ground with this one.  
> The Minis were in the movie, but they weren't named. I've googled until I see double, but I can't find their names anywhere (except for Terry the Mini-Strafe), even though I'm fairly sure I remember Cade using a name for at least one of them when he set fire to Cade's curtains, but the name really didn't stick in my head, and I haven't been able to rewatch to catch it. So this is me taking creative liberties. Basically this boils down to me tiring of writing Mini T-Rex/Mini-Pteranodon/little Dinobot and various other terms repeatedly. Please don't shoot me down for it.

Bee had been gone for three weeks. They were the longest three weeks of Mattie's life, including the three weeks in hospital when she thought her family was gone. She tried to spend the days studying, and visiting the little Dinobot, but she found she was constantly distracted. She had even found an open public pool and taken up her swimming again, and though she enjoyed the exercise, she found she couldn't keep her mind on it. Thankfully, Cade kept her informed on Bee's health and approximate whereabouts. Without that, she thought she would have gone crazy.

Someone nuzzled her back. "Yeah, I know, honey," she said. "We'll go back." She turned, and climbed up on the Mini Triceratops' back. "Go on."

She'd taken to bringing the Mini out on the cliff with her. He thoroughly enjoyed the freedom, and as long as he came when she called she was allowed to bring him outside the compound and roam the sea cliffs. She stroked the Dinobot's neck, and he grunted. "Besides, I have to get to know you to find you a new name, don't I, monkey?" she said.

That was one of the things Grimlock had asked of her when he had held her up that day. The Minis didn't like the names Cade had given them anymore, they'd outgrown them. And no wonder. _Terry, Squirt and Ralph. Those are really stupid names._

The young pteranodon had been the simplest, even though she'd only met him twice. He was a silent glider, he liked to take his prey directly from flight, and he barely ever landed. So she'd called him Raptor, bird of prey. Grimlock had approved.

The other two were harder. So far she was leaning towards Hellion for the mini Rex, mainly because of his temper. He still roared at her more often than not. She was still blank on the other one.

 _Who am I kidding. I'm just doing it to pass the time._ "It's nice to hang out with you, though." The Mini harrumphed and walked a bit faster, tossing his head. She knew what he was asking. "Yeah, okay then."

Suddenly they were sprinting. The little Dinobot was moving his legs as fast as he could, and Mattie hung on for dear life. It was an awkward, lumbering gait, not like the smooth gallop of a horse, but it was fun. Mattid whooped and laughed, knowing her mount enjoyed it as much as she did _. That's it_ , she realized. She leaned forward. "Go, Charger!"

Charger roared, and sped up even more.

* * *

When she came back from the compound, the familiar yellow Camaro stood outside her house.

She drew breath sharply and started running. "Bee!"

He transformed in front of her and swept her up in his arms. "Hey, angel!"

She clung to him, tears of relief running down her face. He was holding her so tight, for a moment she worried about her ribs. But it didn't last long – the next moment he was kissing her, and her whole body turned to jelly.

Somebody cleared his throat.

Bumblebee broke off the kiss and chuckled. "We'll have to continue this later, beautiful. Lennox needs to talk to us." Gently, he lowered her back down to the ground.

Colonel Lennox was standing by the door to her house. She walked up to him, a little embarrassed. "Hi."

"Hi," he replied, grinning. "So, I knew I was right, but that was some sight anyway."

Mattie blushed beet-red. "Is that what you needed to talk to us about?"

"Not really, but now that you bring it up I did have a warning I wanted to pass to you." He looked up at Bee, who sat down on the ground and pulled Mattie close to him.

Lennox looked from one to the others. "You need to think about telling the others. It won't be long before they notice something's going on. Hound's already suspecting something."

Mattie looked up at Bee. "I guess we were going to come to that at some point anyway."

He nodded, then looked at Lennox. "We'll talk it over."

"Good," Lennox said. "That brings me to the other point." He looked at Mattie. "After Berserker was here, you know that I suspected we had a leak somewhere. Now I know we have. That was part of what the last three weeks was about." He sighed. "I don't know who it is yet, and it needn't be here. It may just as well be one of our guys. It might even be more than one individual. I know it's not Viviane, Izzy, Sqweeks, any of the Dinobots, or you, as none of you were partial to what we were doing these last weeks and so couldn't have triggered the traps." He looked Mattie in the eyes. "I also know it's not Bee, because let's be honest here – there's no way Bee would point Berserker at you."

Bee reacted to that by pulling her even closer and nuzzling at her hair.

"But I can't rule out anybody else," Lennox said heavily. "So I want you to be on your guard. Someone is feeding the Decepticons information we don't want them to have. That's how Berserker got out." He paused. "Since we never saw proof of his death, Megatron is probably still out there. Any information the Decepticons receive probably goes to him. And he's still aiming to heal Cybertron by draining Earth's energies."

Mattie shivered.

Lennox looked at her. "As a civilian, you don't really have clearance for this. But as far as I can tell, the Autobots are no longer considered a military unit. So I'm going to treat you as an extension of Bumblebee – information-wise, that is. Anything he's privy to, you're privy to."

"I appreciate it," Mattie said.

"Good." He looked up at Bee. "Any chance of a lift back to the compound?"

Bee nodded. "I was taking Mattie out anyway, I can swing by the compound on the way."

He transformed back into his alt mode, and opened the driver side door for Mattie. Lennox chuckled quietly, and walked around to sit in the passenger seat.

The cliff road seemed shorter than last time, and Mattie found she could look out the window and down easily. Part of it was her daily rides along the cliff on Charger – she was determined to make Grimlock accept that name – but mostly, it was the absolute trust she had for the mech she was riding in. Bumblebee would never let her get harmed. She stretched out a hand and stroked the wheel, moving on to the door panel, and then down to the seat. Bee's engine hummed.

"So did you get done the thing you needed to go away for?" Mattie asked Lennox.

"Partly," he replied, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "There are still a few pieces of the puzzle missing, and we have a few more areas we have to check out. But I don't think we need to go out again just yet. Leastways, I hope not."

Bee slowed at the entrance to the compound, and Lennox got out. "I'll see you two around. Behave." He winked.

As soon as he was out, Mattie let her hands run over every surface of Bumblebee she could reach. Then she burrowed into the seat.

Bee chuckled over the radio. "You okay/honey?"

Mattie dug her nose into the seat back and inhaled deeply. "I've missed you so much, you wouldn't believe it."

"I know what you mean," he replied. "I've been driving/the others/crazy."

Bumblebee drove way too fast, and soon they were back on the beach road. This time he didn't let her sit on his shoulder – instead, he carried her cradled in his arms, up against his chest. Every now and then he pressed his face against her head.

"Oh," he said in surprise as they reached the beach. "The path is clear again."

Mattie poked her head up. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. That was me and Charger." She had taken the Dinobot down here three days in a row, and they'd cut wood and hauled away until the path to the cliff was free of fallen trees.

"Charger?" Bee asked.

She nodded. "The Mini Triceratops. You know, Squirt. Grimlock asked me to rename them."

He stared at her. "Grimlock asked you to…?" Then he shook his head, grinning. "I did see pictures of you visiting Dinobots without me. Scared the life out of me to see you high up on Grimlock's servo. That guy hates everyone."

"I don't think he does," Mattie disagreed. "He's just – different from everybody else."

"So you weren't scared of him?" Bee asked.

"Are you kidding? I was terrified," Mattie giggled.

"As bad as when you met me the first time?" Bee asked. There was an odd catch in his voice.

She twisted and looked up on his face. He was staring out towards the sea.

"Bumblebee, does that bother you? That I was so scared?"

He looked down at her, bright blue optics glowing. "I know you weren't scared of me, specifically. Though I really hated seeing you so terrified because of me. But yeah, sometimes it bothers me. It bothers me because I worry that that's how most humans feel." He sat down on the hilltop and cradled her close. "And I wonder if, perhaps, we shouldn't be here."

Mattie snorted. "Yeah. And then where would we be? Flattened beneath Megatron's heel, or stuck on a planet hell-bent on becoming a monster. Or extinct, since only one planet can survive, and we'd get squished in the middle." She climbed up to where she could reach his face. "And I, specifically, would be dead." She kissed his face gently. "Don't think like that. Please."

In response, he held her tight and kissed her eagerly. _Wow, he's trying to make up for three weeks' missed kissing._ When Bee finally broke it off, Mattie was breathless.

"I love you, angel," he murmured, stroking her gently with the one digit.

"I love you to, Bee, you know that," she smiled, still panting slightly. "But if you keep this up, I'm going to faint at some point."

He chuckled, and gently put her down on the grass. She leaned into him with a content sigh.

"So what were the last weeks about, anyway?"

"Lennox has been trying to sniff out the leak," Bumblebee replied. "He was rotating us in small groups, trying to see which ones the 'Cons would go for, if any, at the same time as we were scouting out the area. We had contacts, plenty of them, but he never could figure out if the leak was there or not. First, it seemed that Drift was the common denominator, next it's Crosshairs, then one of Lennox' guys called Hadley, then another called Quinn. There just didn't seem to be any logic behind it… So then we decided to come back, think up something else."

"Well, I'm glad you came back," Mattie sighed. "It's been completely dead here without you, especially since Izzy left with Viviane. I've been bored out of my mind."

He chuckled. "Is that why you're suddenly hanging out with the Dinobots?"

She grinned and climbed into his lap. "They're cool. At least, Charger and Grimlock are cool. Hellion doesn't seem to like me much, and Raptor doesn't care one way or the other."

For a while, they were silent. Mattie was leaning up against Bumblebee's chest plates, gently stroking the smooth metal beneath them. She could feel his heart – his spark - humming beneath her hand.

"So do we tell them?" she asked hesitantly after a while.

Bumblebee looked down at her. "The others? About us?"

She nodded silently, biting her lower lip. "You know, all my original worries about that are still valid. They'll think I'm a freak. Hell, they'll think we're both freaks."

He raised his servos and started counting off on his digits. "Lennox, Cade, Optimus, Viviane and Izzy already know, and they don't seem to think we're freaks. So that leaves Hound, who already suspects something, Hot Rod, Crosshairs and Drift." He paused. "Drift might think I'm a freak, but he's not a big fan of me as it is, so I don't really care. And he already thinks all humans are weird."

"The Dinobots know," Mattie put in. She giggled at his expression. "Cade introduced me as your 'special girl'."

He chuckled. "Well, they're not likely to have told anyone else."

Mattie thought about it for a moment. "I think we should tell them."

Bumblebee didn't answer, so she looked up at him. "You don't think so?"

"Yeah, I do, I'm just worried about this leak." He pulled her tight. "I really don't like the idea that someone I trust might reveal things to the 'Cons. Even less, that they might reveal that the most important person to me is a tiny little fleshling human. It puts you at way more risk than I'm comfortable with."

She kissed his chest softly. "The leak might not be any of them. And if you flip it around – do you really want to keep secrets from them? Maybe they'll start to suspect you, instead."

Bumblebee kissed her head. "I didn't think of that. You're right, of course." Suddenly, he lay down on his back, still keeping her cradled close. "I think I remember you having issues with the Earth term 'boyfriend'." There was a questioning tone in his voice.

She grinned. "Yeah, it just doesn't do you justice at all."

"On Cybertron, we used the word 'mate', apparently," he said. "I had to ask Optimus, my memory doesn't go that far back."

Mattie thought about it. "It's a good word," she agreed. "We have it here too, but it's usually 'soulmate' here. That word is more intense, though."

He chuckled – she could feel the vibrations through his chestplates. "Of course, you can also just be my special girl. I kind of like that."

"I'll always be your special girl," she said with a smile, kissing the smooth metal.


	20. Chapter 20

Lennox slammed his fists down on the desk. "Damn it! I just can't see it!" He scrubbed his hands through his hair.

Two days earlier, the Decepticons had struck again. This time, it was a lot of small drones, designed specifically to get in everywhere and cause a lot of damage. Thankfully, no one had lost their lives, but Drift was still out of commission and being worked on by Cade and the army specialists.

Optimus looked down at him. "What is it you don't see?"

"The leak," Lennox grunted. "I can't see the leak. And it's going to cost us if we don't figure it out soon."

He sat down behind his desk and started counting off on his fingers. "Let's see. They headed straight for the hangar where Drift and Crosshairs usually recharge; everyone know that's theirs but Mattie, so that doesn't really narrow it down. But it was empty, since those two had to move out because of the cracked roof beams - that happened they day before, so the only ones who didn't know that are Hound and Hot Rod, since they were on an extended patrol." He hid his face in his hands. "Neither of whom has been under suspicion before." He looked up at the giant mech sitting in front of him. "Do you know what they were, Optimus?"

"They looked like old S7 drones," the mech replied. "But they had Shockwave's alterations and energy signature, so Shockwave had his dirty digits on them at some point before we took him out."

"Brilliant." Lennox took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm going to set up a fairly intensive patrol plan. We need to flush this leak out. And I'm keeping it all as quiet as possible. That means you, too, Optimus – no one should know what the others are going to do."

"That is a good idea," the Autobot leader nodded. He stood. "I'll leave you to it."

Lennox nodded and sighed. "Let's hope it does some good this time."

* * *

It had been the most wonderful summer Mattie had ever had. It had rained more often than not, she had been alone a lot of the time, and she hadn't really been anywhere but home. But the yellow mech lying next to her had made all the difference.

They were on the cliff outside the compound, not far from where they had celebrated her birthday in the spring. Mattie was sunbathing, or at least trying to. Her mate – no matter how they had resisted it, the term had stuck – seemed to have other plans.

Gently, Bumblebee let his digit travel from the tip of her toes, up along her leg, across her abdomen up to her shoulder and back down. Every time he touched the bare skin on her stomach, she shivered.

"You know, that bikini looks really good on you," he commented. She could hear the smirk in his voice. "And it gives me access to a lot more of you than usual."

She giggled. "Glad you like it. Who would have thought it would be August before I got to use it."

He made a content sound deep in his chest, and his digit lingered on her stomach, gently tracing the edge of her ribs and stroking down to her hipbones. She gasped and trembled.

"You know," he said teasingly, "I've been so busy patrolling this summer, we haven't had the chance to properly explore that biological response of yours." He leaned down abruptly and kissed her stomach.

She gasped and smacked his head with the flat of her hand. "Don't you dare," she warned. "Not here, where anyone can see us."

He lifted his head and looked around. "There's no one here, angel."

She shook her head. "There's always someone here."

As if to prove her point, Crosshairs walked past the main hangar. He chuckled and shook his head when he saw them.

Bumblebee snorted. "Then let's go somewhere where there's no one." He picked her up and transformed still cradling her, so that she suddenly was sitting in his front seat.

"Hey!" she said, laughing. "You could have asked!"

"Please come with me/to our spot?" he said, already revving his engine.

She threw her hands up, still laughing. "Sure, Bumblebee, whatever you want."

He sped down the now-familiar road, quite a lot faster than legal. Again, he transformed without letting her out, so that one minute she was in the car seat, the next she was in his servo, being cradled up against his chest.

"I feel like I'm being manhandled by King Kong," she giggled.

Bumblebee grinned. "Well, we're similar in size at least."

When they got to the cliff, he gently put her down in the grass, taking care that she was lying in the sunlight. Then he lay down next to her again and looked at her expectantly.

Mattie laughed. "Oh, that face! You should see yourself, Bee. Oh, okay then. I guess this is private."

In answer, he leaned down and kissed her until she couldn't breathe. His digit started exploring again – from the tip of her toes, up along the inside of her leg, across her hip bones, past her belly button up to her ribs, then along the sternum up to her throat. She whimpered.

He chuckled softly. "I _like_ this biological response."

She tried to frown at him, but got distracted halfway through. _Oh God, that feels nice. What if I… Yeah._ She sat up slightly, enough to reach the ties at the back of her bikini top. Carefully, she tugged them loose.

"Um, Mattie? What are you doing?"

"Giving you better access," she said, lying back down. "If we're going to try this, you might as well do it properly and stop being a tease."

He hesitated. "Mattie…"

She looked up at him. "Don't be afraid, Bee. I'll stop you if something is uncomfortable, okay?"

He nodded, still a little hesitant. "Are you sure?"

As an answer, she pulled herself up to his face and kissed him. "I'm sure. I love you, you know."

He grinned. "I love you too, angel. Always have, always will." Slowly, his finger resumed his stroking. She pulled her top the rest of the way off.

* * *

All in all, it worked better than she had thought it would. Bumblebee had surprisingly nimble digits, and anything that he couldn't manage she did for herself. Sure, it was awkward. _But any first time is awkward._

They were still lying on the cliff. The sun had started to sink towards the horizon.

Bee leaned over and kissed her head. "Was that… okay?" he said tentatively.

She grinned, looking at his optics. "That was good."

"Good," he said, sounding relieved.

"What did you think?" she asked, stroking his chest plates. "Worth the time?"

"I thought it was awesome," he said with a wide grin. "I mean, to be able to please you like that… I didn't know I could."

She stretched, arms over her head. "Well, you most definitely can." She grinned wickedly. " And you're welcome to try again at your leisure."

He laughed and kissed her stomach.

"There's something I wanted to try, though," Mattie said. "On you."

He looked at her expectantly. "Oh? What's that?"

"Lie down flat," she ordered. Then she crawled on top of him, so she could look down at his optics.

"I'm warning you in advance," she said. "I'm going to have my way where you're most sensitive." Then she bent down, aiming for the sensitive metal under the chest armor.

He stared. "What do you – Primus!" His servos clenched, and he groaned.

Mattie giggled against his chest. "Time to test out _your_ biological response." Carefully, she ran her tongue over the warm metal again. Bumblebee spasmed.

"Holy – that – feels – " he grunted. He opened the metal armor.

 _Huh. Didn't know he could do that._ Underneath the silver metal, there was a strange blue glow. Mattie reached out towards it carefully. "Is that…"

"My spark," Bumblebee panted. "Please…"

Carefully, Mattie leaned down and kissed the metal over the blue glow. Bee moaned.

She let her tongue follow the curve and crease of the metal, and the blue glow pulsed in response. Bumblebee tensed, arching his spine. "Holy – Primus," he grunted.

Suddenly, the blue glow exploded outward and enveloped Mattie completely.

* * *

_…_ _Bumblebee?_

_…_ _Yes?_

_…_ _What happened?_

_...I don't know. Are you okay?_

_…_ _I… think so. Nothing hurts. You?_

_…_ _I feel wonderful._

_…_ _Am I in your head, Bee?_

_…_ _I think so. Or I'm in yours. Are you scared?_

_…_ _Strangely, no. But it feels really weird. Like I don't have a body._

_…_ _Yeah. Me too. I feel pleasantly disconnected._

_…_ _Exactly. But still connected to you, somehow. Did your spark do this?_

_...I guess. But I think it was because of what you were doing. That felt… wonderful._

_…_ _Well then, I'm glad I was able to reciprocate._

_…_ _You have no idea. I love you, angel._

Slowly, gradually, the blue light faded. Mattie realized she could see again. She was still perched on Bumblebee's chest. His chest plates were open, and the blue glow of his spark was pulsating gently behind the silver metal.

She looked up at Bumblebee, to find that he was looking at her too.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. That was by far the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me. Did we just communicate telepathically?"

"I think we did. You sure you're okay?"

She smiled at the worry in his voice. "As far as I can tell, I'm fit as a fiddle."

"Good." His arms enveloped her and pulled her close, and he nuzzled her hair. "Would you mind if I asked Optimus about this? The telepathy thing, I mean. Not the rest." He chuckled.

"No, that sounds wise," she agreed. "In case we want to try this again."

"Oh, I definitely want to try it again." He laughed, a low, throaty chuckle. Then he put her down. "Come on, get dressed. Let's go back to the compound."

She sat up. "What, you're talking to Optimus tonight already?"

"That's part of it," he nodded. "Another part is that you haven't eaten dinner yet, so you're probably hungry. But the biggest part of it is that Lennox wants us. Crosshairs is a bit peeved – apparently, he's been trying to reach me for the better part of an hour, without response. Lucky he knew I was with you." He flashed her a grin.

Mattie blushed. "Well then, we don't want a peeved sniper. Let's go see Lennox."

* * *

"There you guys are," Lennox called. "You're next on my list. Come on in."

Mattie followed Bee into Lennox' office and shut the door behind them.

"So I'm sending you two somewhere," he said as soon as the door was shut. "I'm sending everybody somewhere, in the hope that it'll flush out the leak. You're leaving tomorrow morning."

Mattie looked at Bee, then back at Lennox. "Okay, I'll bite. Where are we going?"

He flashed her a grin. "Oxford."

"Oxford, England?" Mattie gasped, then grinned excitedly. "Are we going to Viviane?"

Lennox nodded. "I'm sending you two and Hound to Viviane in England. As you know, Izabella and Sqweeks are there already, so you'll be a fairly large group."

Mattie grinned. "Sounds great."

He held up a finger. "Don't get me wrong. This isn't a holiday. I'm fairly confident that no one in that group is leaking information, but I'm far from sure. So you're not to tell any of the others where you're going. I'm sending you two first, then Hound in two days' time. Viviane will meet you."

Bumblebee nodded. "I need to speak to Optimus before we leave. It's a private matter."

"Can I say goodbye to the Dinobots?" Mattie asked.

Lennox nodded. "Go ahead. But don't tell anyone where you're going, or when. A plane will be waiting for you at oh-six-hundred tomorrow. Pack for at least two weeks, Mattie." He grinned. "And bring Johnnie."

Mattie grinned back. "Yes, sir."

* * *

Bumblebee cruised up to the main hangar, and transformed up to bipedal form. *Optimus?*

*I'm here, my friend,* the Autobot leader said. He was standing by the prone form of Drift, who was still in stasis and undergoing repair.

*I have a question, and you may have the answer,* Bumblebee said.

*Then let us go outside, and see if I can help,* Optimus replied. *Let's give poor Drift some peace.*

Bumblebee followed Optimus out to the cliff top where he had been with Mattie that morning.

*Now,* Optimus said, turning to face him. *I'm guessing this has something to do with your mate, and how Crosshairs spent forty-two minutes trying to contact you.*

*Yes, it does,* Bumblebee replied. *Something… happened, that I don't understand.* Quickly, he explained to Optimus how Mattie had caressed his spark chamber, and what had happened afterward.

*I see,* Optimus said after a while. *Strange. And you are sure she was unharmed?*

*She says so, Optimus. I don't have the skill to check thoroughly.*

*Yes,* Optimus sighed. *One of many situations in which Ratchet is sorely missed.* He paused, then continued. *As you know, we do not have much information on your situation. I have never heard of the like before – it sounds not dissimilar to a spark bond, but those are rare and usually reserved for Primes. I have certainly never heard of it occurring in this fashion.* He looked down at Bumblebee. *Perhaps you should ask Cade to talk to Viviane, there may be something in the archives. Though this is not something I would discuss over a phone line, not even a military one.*

 _Good thing we're going to Oxford tomorrow._ *I agree. We do not want unwanted attention.*

Optimus looked at him. *You seem… happy, Bumblebee.*

*I am, Optimus. I'm happier than I've ever been.*

The taller Autobot smiled. *Good. Primus knows, you deserve some happiness.* He sighed deeply. *Now if only we could find this leak, maybe we could all be happy for a while.*

Bumblebee could only nod.

* * *

At the Dinobot compound, Mattie was greeted by a loud roar. "Hey, Hellion," she grinned. "Nice to see you too."

The Dinobot roared at her again as she stood and looked up at him. "You know, I swear you're getting more and more mean-tempered the bigger you get," she said. "Knock it off."

"So that's Hellion," Bumblebee smiled. "You're right, he really doesn't like you."

Mattie grinned. "Yeah, you won't be sorry that I'm gone for a while, will you, you little fiend," she said fondly.

Charger came running up to her.

"Hey, my sweet boy," she cooed. "There you are." She rubbed his face gently. "I have to go away for a while, monkey. I don't know how long."

Charger whined, and nuzzled at her front.

"Yeah, I know," Mattie murmured. "I'll miss you too, monkey. Be good, okay?"

Bumblebee reached out and scratched the Dinobot on top of the shoulder blade. "Don't worry, Charger," he promised. "She'll be back." He looked at her. "You ready?"

"Yup," Mattie said, kissing the Dinobot on the nose. "Sorry, sweetie. But we have a plane to catch."

She turned and followed Bumblebee out of the Dinobot enclosure, and over to the landing strip. Her big suitcase and Johnnie's guitar case were already onboard the plane, and Mattie had convinced Bee to come with her and say goodbye to the Dinobots while the plane was refueling. But now it was time to go.

The plane was a long-distance cargo hauler, of the type often used to move the Autobots from place to place. The cargo compartment was large and cavernous. Once Bumblebee was locked in at all four wheels, and Mattie informed on where her parachute was and how to use it – the crew's condition for letting her sit in Bumblebee for the trip rather than up front in the human seats – the cargo door was sealed, and they were taxing down the runway.

"You're not afraid/to fly?" Bumblebee asked.

Mattie smiled. "I've grown up with parents from opposite sides of the world. Before my grandparents died, I flew back and forth several times a year. I'm good with flying." She kicked her shoes off and curled up in the seat. "It can get boring over long distances, though. I usually brought a book or something."

"What did you bring/this time?"

"I brought some of my books, and I brought Johnnie, and I have you." She grinned. "Should be enough to keep me awake."

He chuckled. "Let's hope so. Sing for me?"

She grinned and unpacked Johnnie, checking the tuning. "Sure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This won't update next week. I'm away on holiday :)


	21. Chapter 21

"Mattie! Mattie! Mattie!"

Mattie opened her eyes groggily. A very excited Izabella was bouncing up and down next to her bed. "Izzy?"

"Hey, Mattie!" The younger girl hugged her. "How awesome is it that you're here! I wanted to come with Viviane to the airport last night, but she said it was too late for me." She pouted.

"It was really late," Mattie yawned. "I think we landed about… one-ish local time? Can that be right?"

"It was late, anyway," Izzy agreed. "Come on, get up! Cogman's made breakfast, and weird as he is, that Autobot whips up some killer waffles."

Mattie led the younger girl drag her from bed. "Cogman?"

Izzy grinned. "You'll see."

* * *

Once Mattie was dressed, Izzy dragged her downstairs. Viviane's house was a grand old two-story affair with a garden behind it. For the moment, Bumblebee was in his alt mode up front on the street.

"Good morning, Mattie!" the older girl called as they arrived in the kitchen. "You hungry? Oh, this is Cogman."

A small, man-shaped Autobot bowed to her. "Charmed to make your acquaintance, miss."

"Hello, Cogman," Mattie said, surprised.

He noticed her look. "I am the butler, miss. I was butler to the late Sir Edmund Burton, of the Witwiccan foundation, and now I'm caretaker of his estate."

"I borrowed him for a few days," Viviane explained. "I do that once in a while. He gets bored with no one to look after."

Mattie sat down to the lavishly set breakfast table. "Wow, this looks amazing. Hotel quality breakfast."

Cogman bowed again. "Thank you, miss."

"So how're my guys?" Viviane asked. "I heard you got hit again."

"Yeah," Mattie sighed. "Cade's still working on Drift, he will be out of it for a while. They fragmented his left servo, and did a real number on his back. He'll live, but he won't be back on his feet soon. The rest of them are okay, mostly minor injuries. Hot Rod and Hound were off base at the time, so it was mostly Optimus and Crosshairs needing repairs."

"Not Bee?" Viviane asked.

"Bee was with me, out at the house," Mattie said. "We only got the one drone out our way, and he swatted that easily."

"So how are things with you and Bumblebee?" Izabella asked, a cheeky grin on her face.

Mattie blushed slightly and smiled. "We're good. Still going strong. Everyone on base knows now, that's made it all a bit easier."

"You told them? How did they react?" Viviane looked at her curiously.

"Not as badly as I feared." Mattie smiled. "Hound had guessed it already. Crosshairs just laughed, he thinks it's hilarious. He's always poking a bit of fun at us – calls me "Bumblebee's little mate" and things like that. But he doesn't mind. Drift doesn't understand it – he thinks we're both weird."

"Sounds about what I expected," Viviane said.

Mattie nodded. "Yeah, us too. And none of them are rude, or mean, so that's okay."

"Optimus would have their hide if they were rude to you," Izzy stated. "He thinks it's awesome." She grinned at their looks. "He told me. Of course, he didn't use that word – I don't think he knows that word – but he said something like 'a pleasant development in the cooperation of our species' or some such."

"Typical Optimus wordiness," Viviane laughed.

"Pardon the intrusion," Cogman said behind them. "Miss Viviane, you wished to be alerted at this time."

"Oh, it's now?" Viviane asked. "And the plane was on time?"

"Yes, miss."

"Good." Viviane grinned and looked at Mattie. "Come on, finish your breakfast. We have a surprise for you. And he should be here any minute."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

"Oh, come on," Izabella said. She looked at Viviane. "You knew he was right outside. That kind of thing never happens."

Viviane grinned. "I did. Can't blame a girl for having a bit of fun, can you? Come on, let's let him in."

"Him?" Mattie asked, putting down her napkin. "Him who?" She followed Viviane out into the hallway.

The older woman opened the door, and let in a tall boy with dark curls and bright blue eyes. He lit up when he saw her. "Marie!"

Mattie gaped. "Jacques?"

He looked down on himself, then grinned at her. "In the flesh."

Mattie ran over and hugged him. "Oh my God, Jacques! Wow, look at you! When did you grow taller than me?"

He blushed slightly. "You haven't seen me for a year, Marie."

"I know, but wow! My baby brother, and he's taller than I am." She grinned and reached up to ruffle his hair. "This has grown longer, too."

He ducked away from her hand and blushed, still grinning.

Mattie turned to Viviane. "How did this happen?"

Viviane grinned. "I invited him to stay when I knew you were coming."

"I'm starting a university course here, in math," Jacques said. "Viviane said I could stay here with her, so I didn't have to live on campus."

Mattie stared at him. "University? Are you trying to tell me you finished your Baccalauréat in just eighteen months?"

He grinned smugly. "Fourteen. I did an advanced physics course at UBO this spring."

Mattie raised her eyebrows and grinned. "My brother, the genius. I'm so proud of you!"

"Come on in, Jacques," Viviane said. "I'll show you which room is yours."

Mattie stepped aside to let her brother pass. Izabella caught her eye and grinned. "Your brother is really cute," she mouthed. Mattie grinned and shrugged.

* * *

"Viviane?"

Viviane looked up. Mattie was standing in the doorway to her room, wearing a night robe. "Mattie? Is something wrong?"

The other woman walked over and sat down on the chair in front of her. "Do you have a moment? We encountered something, and Optimus thought you might know of it from the archives."

"Well, I'll try to help," Viviane said. "What is it?"

"Well, Bumblebee and I… We – well – you know…" she paused, blushing. "Well, we got physical. And he has this spark chamber, see? It's hidden behind his chest armor. Apparently, that's a very sensitive spot, so when I touched him there, he – well, you get the gist of it." She looked up at Viviane, still blushing slightly.

"I get it," Viviane said with a smile. _Wow, they actually did it. Who knew that was possible._

"Anyway, when he – climaxed-" again with the furious blushing "- this blue light kind of exploded out of his spark chamber, and suddenly I couldn't see anything. But I could hear his voice in my head, and he could hear mine. And we talked to each other telepathically, until the blue light faded."

Viviane sat back. "Huh."

"Does it ring any bells?" Mattie asked. "Bumblebee's worried that it would have been harmful to me somehow."

"I can't say it sounds familiar." Viviane shook her head. "Right off the bat, I doubt it's harmful – extensive research has been done on the properties of the matter that makes up the Cybertronians, including Energon, and none of it has been found to be harmful to humans in small doses. That said, I don't think it occurred to any of the researchers to try to inhale it, and you may have, if it was gas. If it was just light, it may still have a fairly high UV count, but you should have felt that as a sun burn if that was the case. Tell you what." She looked the younger woman in the eye. "I had intended that we go down to the estate as soon as Hound gets here, because there's more space there. How about we go tomorrow instead? Then you can introduce Jacques to Bee properly, and we can do some research."

Mattie shot her a relieved grin. "Thanks, Viviane. I really appreciate it."

Viviane gave her a hug. "Anything for my favourite couple."

* * *

The ride down from Oxford to the Burton mansion took around two hours, so they started early the next day. The biggest problem was getting Sqweeks into Bumblebee's back seat – the little robot simply wasn't built for getting into sports cars with ease. In the end, Bumblebee had to partially transform to get him in, and then he ended up on the front passenger seat, meaning Izabella and Jacques had to sit in the back together.

"Chihuahua…" the little robot said, sounding ashamed.

"No, that's okay, Sqweeks," Mattie said. She reached out and petted the little robot. "The important thing is that we got you inside."

"I have a large and/comfortable back seat," Bumblebee offered. "And they're/quite small/humans."

Mattie grinned. She had a feeling that Izzy didn't really mind sitting in the back with Jacques all that much.

Viviane leaned in through the open window. "Stay right behind Cogman, okay, Bee? I know you've been here before, but I'd like it better if I can see where you are at all times."

"No problem," Bee promised. "I'll stick to/his/shiny/aft."

"I heard that," Cogman said, sounding somewhat insulted. "Unmannered cretin."

Mannie grinned, then turned around to look at her brother in the seat. "So, you guys haven't officially met. Jacques, meet Bumblebee." She stretched out a hand and touched the door panel gently. "Bumblebee, this is my baby brother Jacques. Not so baby anymore."

Jacques grinned. "Hey, Bee. Nice to see you at last."

"You too, kid", Bee said.

"You'll get to meet him in bipedal form later," Mattie promised. "The mansion has large grounds, so he can transform and walk around as he chooses."

"Cool," Jacques said.

Izzy looked at him. "You aren't scared, are you? Mattie was terrified the first time she met a Autobot."

"I'm not scared," Jacques grinned. "I've talked to Bee on the phone several times. I know he's cool."

Bee revved his engine in response. Mattie giggled and stroked the steering wheel. "Showoff."

As they hit the M25, Mattie heard the conversation in the back seat turn technical.

"They are dynamos, self-sustaining organisms, right?" Jacques said.

"Nearly," Izabella replied. "They have this stuff they need to fuel themselves, it's called Energon. It lubricates them. But it's nowhere near the fuel consumption of regular cars, or even like food. They can last quite long without supplies."

"It has to be a fairly potent energy source, then."

"I guess. But they're really efficient machinery. You know how cars – or any engine, really – loses a lot of its energy to heat? The Transformers don't, they don't waste the energy."

"You know a lot about them," Jacques said.

"I'm a mechanic," Izabella replied. "I was okay at it before Cade picked me up, and then when I got to work on the big 'bots I learned even more. Do you know engines?"

"No, not at all," Jacques said, chuckling. "I couldn't tell one end from the other. But I can tell you the theory behind them."

Mattie grinned, and stroked Bee's seat stitching gently. She could feel the seat move against her in response, and the engine purred. "Love you, Bee," she whispered silently.

Bee responded by changing the radio – suddenly they were listening to Jason Mraz singing 'I'm yours.'

"Sing along?" Bee asked. Mattie giggled.

"Yeah, do that, Mattie," Izzy said from the back seat. "I haven't heard you sing since your birthday."

"Okay, but you guys too, then," Mattie said. "I know you know this one."

Jacques grinned. "Mom always says that singing makes the road shorter. Which of course is a physical impossibility."

"Yeah, and still it always worked," Mattie grinned. She started singing along, and pretty soon the other two joined in. And they got to the mansion in no time at all.


	22. Chapter 22

"I can't find anything here either," Viviane said. "That makes three volumes I thought would have covered it that actually did not."

They had only just arrived at the estate, and she and Mattie were already in the library, looking through some of the texts and folios in the hope of finding something on the blue mist Mattie had experienced.

"Maybe it didn't occur to the people of those times to actually be intimate with Cybertronians," Bumblebee murmured. He was sitting in the back corner of the room.

"That, or it would have been kept private, and not written down in these histories," Viviane agreed. "The view on what was considered proper to document has changed a bit since then."

Mattie leaned her head in her hands. "Maybe there's nothing to be found. The only thing that's come close to matching is that description of the village girls overcome with hysteria after spending the night in the woods with the metal men."

"That might just as well mean they all had their periods at the same time," Viviane said crisply.

The younger woman snorted, and Viviane looked at her. "No, seriously. You'd be surprised at how many times typical female maladies were described as insanity or worse. Women were put in asylums for things like menstrual cramps or post-natal depression."

"I miss Ratchet," Bumblebee said. "He could have just scanned you, figured out if anything was wrong."

"That may be it," Viviane said, snapping her fingers. She crossed the room to the more modern volumes, and picked up 'The Treatise on Strangers'. "Let's see."

The Treatise was infamous for the in-depth examinations of the Cybertronians' body functions. There was general agreement that the author had to have tortured or dismembered at least one of them to get the information described in it. _If it's not in here, I doubt anyone has researched it._

"Here," she pointed. "Listen. 'Most of the aliens seem to be male, though no evidence of genitalia has been found on any of the test subjects.' He goes on to list sensitivity to pain in different parts of the body – ugh, these details are grisly – and then this: 'When stimulus is given to the area of chest shielding the life force, the response varies depending on the type of stimulus. Negative stimulus often provokes a shock reaction. Positive stimulus seems to provoke some sort of expulsion of life force, although this was witnessed just once in seven attempts. The expulsion takes the form of a cloud or glow.' That's it." She looked up at Mattie and Bumblebee. "Unfortunately, it didn't occur to the author of the Treatise to actually examine the cloud closer. I doubt he would have had a pleasant experience, considering how he treated his test subjects."

"So now we know a bit more, but not enough," Mattie said.

"Yes," Viviane nodded. "But it gives me an idea. Stay here, I'll be right back." She darted out of the library.

* * *

No sooner was she gone, than a metal servo picked Mattie up from where she was standing. The next moment, Bee was kissing her.

"You have no idea how frustrating it is to be near you all the time, and be stuck in alt mode so I can't do that," he sighed. "Do you realize it's been nearly forty-eight hours since last time I got to kiss you?"

Mattie giggled. "We've gone longer without kissing before," she pointed out. "The longest was three weeks, remember?"

"Yes, but then I was off fighting Decepticon drones," Bumblebee said. "Not here right next to you, constantly seeing you and smelling you and not being able to touch." He grinned wickedly. "I want to _touch_."

Mattie blushed slightly. "Well, there should be secluded spaces around here too," she whispered. "And some of the rooms are fairly big."

Bumblebee grinned and kissed her again.

"You two are so cure it's not even funny," Viviane said from behind her. "Give me a few more moments, and I promise you can leave this room and go somewhere else. Wherever else."

Bumblebee put Mattie down on the ground in front of Viviane. "So what did you find?"

Viviane held up a box. It looked like an older type of jewellery box, of the type that necklaces and such would be kept in, but it was dented and scuffed. She opened the lid. Inside was a linked silver bracelet with interlocking panels and woven chains. It looked very complicated and uncomfortable.

"This is a Meta Coil," Viviane said. "At least, that's what Tesla called it. Yes, that Tesla." She looked at them. "It was designed to interpret energy, so hopefully it can do some good here. And this," she fished a smaller box out of her pocket, "is an activity tracker that also monitors heart rate. You should wear them both, Mattie, and then maybe you'll get some answers."

Mattie stood still while Viviane fitted the Meta Coil around one wrist, then the tracker on the other. Viviane stood back and smiled at them. "There. Now get out of my sight and let me do some research in peace. I'll have Cogman send for you when it's lunch time."

Mattie grinned as Bumblebee wrapped his servo around her waist. "See you around, Viv."

* * *

"If you need an example of how lack of Energon messes with an Autobot's systems," Izabella grunted, "you don't need to look further than these guys."

Within ten minutes of their arrival, Izzy had realized that there were several old Autobots living at the mansion, and they were all in need of repair. So now she was wearing a pair of overalls that Cogman had found for her, she was covered in grease and stains, and she was wrestling with an Autobot's leg.

"I'm sorry, miss," the Autobot said. "I seem to have gotten myself into a dreadful state of disrepair."

She reached up one dirty hand and patted him. "Not your fault, Bulldog. Happens to us all."

Jacques watched her work. Izabella had apparently taken him serious when he said he knew nothing about engines, and sniggered at him when he offered to help. Then she had given him a piece of rusty metal that he suspected wasn't exactly critical to the functioning state of the Autobot, and a steel brush, and told him to clean the rust off – 'not too hard, mind, but not too soft, either'. So now he was sitting on a three-legged stool, watching her. _She seems to have a knack for this_.

Outside the workshop, he could see Bumblebee striding by, Marie sitting high on his shoulder. He waved, but they didn't see him.

"Where do you think Bumblebee's going with my sister?"

"Who knows," Izabella smirked. "They're probably looking for some privacy. Lovebirds."

Jacques dropped the piece of metal he was working on with a clang, and it rolled across the floor. "Lovebirds?"

"Yeah, they're together, right?" Izzy asked. When he didn't respond, she turned and looked at him. "Oh my gosh, you didn't know?" She clapped a hand to her mouth. "Oh, crap."

"I didn't know," he said slowly. "Marie never said. Seriously? They're together? How the hell do they make that work?"

Izabella shrugged. "I have no idea. But it works, apparently. They're very happy together."

He stared at her. "You don't think it's weird?"

She grinned. "I thought it was super-weird at first. But I've gotten used to them." She looked at him. "Are you freaking out?"

He frowned at her. "No, I'm not freaking out. I'm a guy. I'm just – it's really weird."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, so guys don't freak out. Yeah right. Listen, they're both adults, so they can do as they please. You can talk to Mattie about it later if you want. But if you want to hang out here and help me, you should stop freaking out and actually help."

Jacques picked up the piece of metal and sat back down on the stool. "I'm not freaking out," he muttered.

Izabella snorted. "Yeah right."

* * *

_…_ _It happened again, didn't it?_

_…_ _Yeah._

_…_ _I love you, Bee._

_…_ _I love you too, angel. I love you so much it almost hurts._

_…_ _I know what you mean. Wait. I can feel what you mean._

_…_ _You can feel what I feel?_

_…_ _Yeah. Weird. Wow, this is really good for you, isn't it?_

_…_ _You have no idea. I wish I could feel how you feel, though. Is it similar?_

_…_ _It's the same. Hah. No biological drive my ass. Sorry. Aft._

_…_ _You don't have an aft. You have a very nice backside, though._

_…_ _Heh. Thanks._

The blue glow faded again, and Mattie snuggled up against Bee's open chest plates. His spark vibrated gently under her hand.

One digit started slowly stroking against her entire body. She sighed contentedly. "Can I just stay here forever?"

Bumblebee chuckled. "Absolutely. I'm never letting you go, you know."

"Sounds good." She kissed the shiny metal.

"What are you going to tell your brother about us?" he asked after a while.

"Ugh, I have no idea," Mattie groaned. "I don't even know where to start. 'So you might have noticed that I'm a bit preoccupied with that big yellow Autobot? That's because I spend as much time as humanly possible kissing him and doing the big naughty in secluded wooden areas.'"

Bumblebee laughed loudly. "I have no experience with this kind of thing, but I doubt that's the normal place to start."

Mattie grinned. "No. I have to figure something out though. Jacques doesn't always notice what's going on right under his nose, but it would be just my luck if he figured this out before I was ready to tell him."

Bumblebee was silent for a little while. "Are you ashamed of us?"

Mattie sat bolt upright and stared at him. "Ashamed? Hell, no. Why would I be ashamed?"

"Well, we're not exactly normal," Bee said hesitantly. "And I worried that perhaps that was why you hadn't told your family yet."

Mattie leaned over and kissed him as thoroughly as she knew how. "Don't ever, ever think that," she told him sternly. "The reason I haven't told them is because I want them to know you first, so they just don't see a giant metal figure. That's why I'm really glad that you've been talking to them on the phone all this time, because then they've gotten to know your personality first before they see you. Also, I want to tell them in person." She kissed the silver metal tenderly. "I'm not ashamed of you. I'm proud."

In response, he squeezed her so tight she could hardly breathe. "I love you so much," he whispered. "So much more than you know."

"I know," she sighed happily. He chuckled. Then he sat up, and gently lifted her up on his shoulder.

"Cogman wants you back for lunch," he explained and smirked. "Apparently, I've been out of range again." He set off through the trees.

* * *

When they came back to the house, Jacques walked out of one of the outbuildings. He paused when he saw them, then started walking their way. Bumblebee stopped and put Mattie down.

"So when were you going to tell me that you two were an item?" Jacques asked, frowning at them. Mattie paled.

There was a squeak from inside the building, and Izabella came running out. "I'm so sorry, Mattie, I thought you had told him!"

"That's okay, Izzy," Mattie said. Her voice was trembling slightly. "I'm sorry, Jacques. I was working up to it."

"Sorry doesn't quite cut it," he spat. "You're dating an alien!"

Mattie just stood, frozen in place. She felt tears beginning to form in the corner of her eyes.

Then Jacques slowly began to smile. "And he also happens to be a really cool guy, who's saved your life at least once, who's always willing to talk to mom on the phone even when she's being inane, and who can actually drive himself so you don't run off the road. I think it's cool."

Mattie took two steps up to him and hugged him, surreptitiously wiping away the few tears that managed to escape. "You little mongrel," she laughed. "You had me really worried there for a second."

Bumblebee chuckled behind her.

Mattie took a step back from her brother. "Jacques," she announced, "I'd like you to meet my mate, Bumblebee. Bumblebee, this is Jacques, your brother-in-law. Sort of."

Jacques grinned and raised his hand for a high-five. "Hey, Bee-bot. Congrats on landing my sister. If you're not nice to her I'll have Izabella rewire your hardware so you'll forever transform into a mobility scooter."

Izzy laughed at that. Then she took Mattie's and Jacques' hands and started towing them towards the house. "Come on. Cogman wants us for lunch, and if we don't wash up first he won't let us sit at the table."

* * *

Bumblebee stood and stared after the humans. _Well, that went a lot better than we feared. Brother-in-law?_ He looked the term up on the internet. _Hmm. Well, it applies. Sort of._

*Did I hear correctly?* a gravelly voice said next to him. He turned towards Bulldog – the old-timer was up and on his feet, barely, leaning heavily on a cane of some kind. *Is that little fleshling human your mate?*

*Yes, she is,* Bumblebee said simply.

*Hrmph,* the old Autobot said. *Well, it's good to see someone else falling into that trap.*

*How do you mean?* Bumblebee asked, looking at him. *You know someone else who's done this?*

*Yes,* Bulldog nodded. *"Me.*

* * *

They sat on an Autobot-scaled bench behind the manor. The humans were still inside eating lunch.

*Her name was Cairistìona,* Bulldog said. *To me, she was the most beautiful creature that ever graced this green planet. She was the daughter of a priest, from some flyspeck town up in the Scottish highlands, and she had joined the allied forces as a nurse. That's how we met.* He glanced sideways at Bumblebee. *Of course, I was a lot more functional back then. More like you. Anyway, I took to her right away, and she to me. We were inseparable. When the war ended, she came with me instead of going home to her family.* He paused. *I still miss her. Every day.*

*How do you live through it?* Bumblebee asked quietly.

*Oh ho, so you've realized that, have you?* the old Autobot asked, lifting his optic ridges. *Yes, it will not end well for you. I lost Cairistìona when she was fifty-five years old. Some form of cancer. I think that's what sent me off the deep end, so to speak – there wasn't much reason to be functional any longer, was there? How old is your mate?*

*Mattie's twenty-one.*

*You may have another sixty Earth years with her then, if you're lucky. And then she'll be gone.*

*I know,* Bumblebee said heavily. *I try not to dwell on it.*

*Good, that's good,* Bulldog nodded. *Live in the now. That's what we did. And I'm telling you right here and now, there's no one had it as good as us. Those that look down on it or don't understand, they don't know what they're missing.* Suddenly he chuckled. *And they certainly haven't seen the advantage of those small hands, and all the bits they can reach.* He looked sideways at Bumblebee again. *I can tell you know what I mean. She been in your head yet?*

Bumblebee nodded, slightly embarrassed. *Twice. We actually came here today to do some research on it, since nobody we know has encountered the phenomenon before.*

*I doubt you'll find anything on it,* the old Autobot said. *It's not commonly known.*

*Is it harmful to her?*

*Not that we noticed,* Bulldog replied. *In fact, it seemed like it was the opposite. Christie would feel under the weather or something, and that would fix her right up. Unfortunately, it's no miracle cure – it didn't slow the cancer.*

*Aren't you afraid that it caused it?* Bumblebee asked quietly.

*These human beings get cancer from everything these days,* the old-timer scoffed. *Until I see specific proof that I caused it, I choose to believe something else did. All I know is, I could soothe her when she was in pain, I could cure her minor ills, and that doesn't sound like something dangerous to me. No, don't you worry about that. Either of you.* He reached out and patted Bumblebee's knee joint. *Treasure her. Treasure each day with her, and live them fully, because they're numbered. There's no such thing as a happily ever after for us. I would have given anything to have kept Christie with me until the end of my days.* A single blue tear slid down his cheek. *She was the meaning of my life.*

Bumblebee stared towards the house. When he turned his sensors to maximum level, he could discern the human voices in there. *I will,* he replied quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had my way with Bulldog's personality, as he's barely used in the film. Hopefully you'll forgive me for that. And the Meta Coil? Made that up.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a bit of trouble with this one. I don't know if you've noticed, avid readers, but Michael Bay kills off Transformers. A lot of them. In every film. So I had a hard time even finding enemies here. If I've used someone who mr. Bay has already killed off, well, try to ignore that.  
> Also. This being an action chapter, there is a lot of rapid dialogue. So for the first time, I feel the need for one of these:  
> "normal talk"  
> *talk in Cybertronian*  
> /*talk over comms*

If he hadn't had his sensors to the max to try and hear Mattie's voice, Bumblebee'd never have noticed until it was too late. As it was, he got a few minutes extra warning.

He jumped up. "Incoming Decepticon-signal!" he shouted, running towards the house. He heard Bulldog transform behind him, grunting and groaning as he did, until the WW1 tank rolled up next to him.

"Which way, boy?"

"Northeast," Bumblebee grunted, running flat out now.

/*Cogman! Incoming Decepticon-signal!*

/*Understood, sir. I have sent the children to shelter, but the women will not leave. Who is it?*

/*I don't know yet. Have Viviane call Cade, and try and let Lennox know!*

He turned northeast, trying to read an energy signature. The signal was coming in fast.

*It's Thundercracker!* he bellowed. *Take cover!*

* * *

Lennox picked up the phone. "Hello? What? Damn it! Yes, scramble both squadrons, we can't leave him alone out there."

He hung up and turned to Optimus. "Hot Rod's convoy's been hit," he said heavily. "That means the leak is there, since the only ones who knew about the convoy are in it. Damn it all to hell."

"Who hit them?" Optimus asked.

"Someone Hot Rod didn't recognize," Lennox replied. "He came in as a plane, then overtook them as a tanker truck."

"Octane," Optimus growled. "Useless piece of Decepticon scum."

"Can Hot Rod take him? With the help of both squadrons?"

"I think so," Optimus said. "Unless he gets airborne again."

"Okay." Lennox scrubbed his hands through his hair. "They'll let us know."

* * *

Grimlock sniffed the air. Something was coming, and it did not smell friendly. He transformed up, and turned his sensors on.

There was a signal approaching fast, and it was coming from the seafront. He snarled, and opened the gates to the fence.

Lennox' phone rang again.

"Yes, how – lieutenant Hadley? Roger that, I'll scramble the fighters, we'll cover your return." He looked up at Optimus. "Crosshairs and Hound have Skywarp on their tail, and they're coming in hot. Damn it, I knew there had to be more than one leak."

"We're being hit on multiple fronts," Optimus said. "This is a coordinated attack."

"How did they know, though?" Lennox swore again. "No one knew that the others were being sent out. I'm the only one privy to all the plans."

"We'll have to deal with that later," Optimus said. "Listen."

Outside, Grimlock was roaring.

"They're already here," Optimus said. "Call everyone back to base, colonel. This is the big one."

* * *

"I can't reach Cade," Viviane shouted. There was an ear-splitting crash from outside, and Mattie flinched.

"Can you reach the military, miss Viviane?" Cogman called. He was aiming a machine gun out the window.

"No, I can't get through!" Viviane called back.

"Then we're on our own," the Autobot growled. "Let's hope it's enough."

* * *

Bumblebee watched as the Decepticon fighter jet flew in low towards the house and launched his missiles, taking out huge chunks of masonry from the manor building's walls and roof. Bulldog took aim at him, and returned fire.

*Decepticon punk!*

/*I can't get at him until he's down,* Bumblebee said on the comm. /*Cogman, do we get backup?*

/*We're on our own, sir!* the butler replied. /*We can't get through to them!*

Suddenly, Thundercracker started spiraling, smoke coming from one wing. He transformed on the fly and crashed into the greenhouse behind the mansion.

*Who felled him? Bulldog, did you get him?*

*Negative! My shots went wide!*

A new voice joined the comms. /*Autobot Scattorshot reporting. Sorry I'm late, guys, I have limited limbs to work with here.*

/*Scattorshot?* Bumblebee said, surprised. /*I thought you were dead!*

/*So did I, but as it turns out, we were both wrong,* Scattorshot said.

/*Well, I've never been gladder to hear a dead 'Bot's voice!* Bulldog roared, bringing his cannon to train on the greenhouse. /*Now let's get this creep!*

* * *

"It's Scourge!" Optimus called. "He scaled the cliffs!"

"Fall back to the workshop! Crosshairs and Hound are ten minutes out," Lennox shouted back, assembling the rocket launcher.

There was another loud roar as Grimlock charged across the compound and threw himself at the Decepticon coming in from the sea front.

"Is it just Scourge?" Lennox called.

Optimus looked east, then up. "We've got company up above – Skywarp's here. And Blitzwing's coming in from the east!"

Lennox cursed. "Then let's get ready for them!"

* * *

The ground shook, and Mattie screamed, covering her ears.

"They've brought him down!" Cogman said. "We will be making short shrift of this villain now!"

"No, wait!" Viviane cried. "Listen!"

In the few moments of silence, they could hear a loud screeching.

"I know that sound," Mattie groaned. "It's the drones!"

"They're coming in through the ceiling!" Viviane shouted.

"Ladies, much as I value your courage, you need to get to the bomb shelters NOW!" Cogman roared. "Go! I will cover your retreat!"

* * *

Thundercracker rose up from what remained of the greenhouse. He spotted Bulldog, and aimed both cannons at him. *Megatron sends his regards,* he sneered.

*Megatron can eat slag!* Bumblebee roared, jumping at the Decepticon. He aimed his cannon into the other's chest, but Thundercracker grabbed him and threw him into the wall of the mansion, shattering the window glass and bringing a shower of brickwork down on him.

Bulldog trained his cannon at the Decepticon, firing even before Bumblebee was thrown clear. *I'll send you back in pieces, Decepticon scum!* The shot took Thundercracker in the left shoulder joint, leaving one arm dangling uselessly.

Scattorshot's big guns rang out again, and Thundercracker let out a scream of rage.

*Hah! Can't move worth a damn, but I can still take you down a notch,* the Autobot jeered.

Bumblebee pushed himself free of the wall, and shook the debris off. *We're going to rip you to shreds, Thundercracker,* he snarled.

The big Decepticon leered at them. *I'd like to see you try, little Autobot. You're just the starter. I'm going to sate my appetite with the savory little fleshlings you're concealing inside!*

Bumblebee felt a cold stab of fear. _Mattie._

* * *

Cade walked out of the workshop to the still figures standing tensely, waiting. The sound of shooting and screeching tires was coming closer. "Do I need to reactivate Drift?" he asked quietly.

Lennox shot him a sideways glance. "What good is he?"

"He can't stand up. And the left arm is shot."

"Then you might as well leave him in stasis."

"We will not let them get to him anyway," Optimus rumbled. "Crosshairs and Hound are right around the corner. And by the sound of it, Grimlock and Hellion have Scourge under control."

"Incoming!"

The shout came from the opposite rooftop, and Lennox pushed Cade back in the building. "Take cover!" he bellowed. The next moment, the building to their left – Bee's and Hound's recharge barracks – exploded in a mess of smoke, fire and twisted metal.

Lennox picked himself up off the ground. _Too close for comfort._ "Get those SAMs up!" he shouted, not pausing to see if anyone else was on their feet yet. Crosshairs came round the corner on two wheels, transforming on the go to stand with Optimus.

"Hound's delayed. Decepticon creep took out his peds," he snarled. "Skywarp's above."

"So is Blitzwing," Optimus said darkly.

"So is Raptor!" Lennox pointed. "Look!"

The little flying Dinobot was flying in large circles over their heads, crying. Suddenly he changed direction, and shot against something large and dark coming in low from the north. The two shapes slammed into each other with an almighty crash, and hit the ground in a twisted flurry of metal. Raptor screeched and pulled himself loose.

"Stay down, slag!" Optimus aimed his guns at Blitzwing and fired, leaving the Decepticon a smoking ruin.

Raptor limped over to them and looked at Lennox. "Yeah, go inside, Raptor," he said, reaching up to stroke the Dinobot's head. "Have Cade have a look at you."

"Well done, young Dinobot," Crosshairs grinned. "That was almost an unassisted kill, and he was much bigger than you."

Raptor growled and disappeared into the workshop.

"Now," Lennox said, looking up into the sky. "One bogey left."

* * *

Bumblebee threw himself at Thundercracker again. With just himself and the elderly WW1 tank between Thundercracker and Mattie and the others, Bee had to keep the Decepticon from using his guns as long as possible. With just the one arm, Thundercracker was a less formidable foe, but he was still bigger than Bumblebee by quite a large margin. Bumblebee tried to bring his gun to bear on anything vital, but Thundercracker grabbed hold of him again and pushed him down.

*Worthless piece of scrap,* the Decepticon grumbled. *Get out of my way.*

In response, Bumblebee aimed his weapon at Thundercracker's ped, and fired. The larger Transformer groaned, aiming a kick at him with his now ruined leg. But with half of his body dysfunctional, the action was too much for him, and he started toppling down.

_Slag, he's going to come down on top of me._

A large hole suddenly bloomed in the center of Thundercracker's chest. He looked up in shock, and fired both missile launchers over Bumblebee's shoulder. Then he collapsed forward, taking Bumblebee down with him.


	24. Chapter 24

Mattie sat as still as she could in the dark bomb shelter. It was an old structure, world war era, and no one were sure it could actually withstand the weaponry the Decepticons used. They also didn't know how much sound would travel through the thick walls, so for now, silence was key.

Every now and then, a dull thump would make the walls and floor shake, indicating that her mate was still fighting outside. At least, she hoped he was – she'd gotten a glimpse of the Decepticon as they hurried to the shelter, and he was huge. Easily as large as Hound, maybe as tall as Optimus even. And they had one Autobot, half an Autobot and a butler with a machine gun, the last of which were busy taking down drones along with Sqweeks. At least they were fairly sure the drones couldn't get into the bomb shelters. Mattie fingered her necklace nervously.

Izabella crept over to sit between her and Jacques, and took one of their hands in each of her own. Mattie noticed that her brother flinched a little bit and stared at Izzy, but then he seemed to accept the close contact. Viviane was sitting across the room – she was hunched over her phone, concentrating. Probably still trying to get through to Cade. _Unless she's playing WordFeud or something._ The idea was so ludicrous that Mattie almost laughed out loud, despite the severity of their situation, and she had to bite down on her lip to keep from giggling. _I must be close to snapping._

Another crash, the biggest one yet, shook the entire room they where sitting in. Izabella whimpered and squeezed Mattie's hand to the point of pain, so Mattie put her arm around the younger girl and held her tight.

Abruptly, Viviane stood up with a worried look on her face. She crept over to Mattie and held up her phone.

It was a text message of some kind. 'Attacked on multiple fronts,' it read. Mattie realized it had to be from Cade. 'Taken down two, two of ours down. One Con left. Hang in there. Love you always.'

Mattie looked a question up on the older woman. "No relief," Viviane mouthed. "On our own."

Mattie nodded, frowning. So they were in this by themselves.

The door started creaking open. Mattie threw herself at it, pulling it shut. She braced her feet against the doorframe, but whoever was on the other side was stronger, and she felt her grip slipping.

"Chihuahua?"

"Sqweeks?" Izzy scrambled to her feet.

"Chihuahua!"

Mattie let go of the door carefully, and it was pulled all the way open. The little Autobot stood on the other side, covered in scrapes and dent and looking even more shabby than usual. Izabella ran over and hugged him, tears running down her cheeks.

"Are we okay, Sqweeks? Are we good?"

"You're good, miss. The enemy is down and all the drones have been disposed of." Mattie looked up to see the butler standing in the other end of the hallway. He was also dented and scuffed, but stood straight and easy. "Come on," he said. "I'll put the tea on."

Mattie gaped at him, then began giggling. _A few minutes he was aiming a machine gun out the dining room window, and now he wants to make tea!_

They followed the Autobots back out of the shelters and into the kitchen. Or what was left of it.

All the glass in the windows had been blown in, and the floor and counter tops were covered in glass shards. There was a large hole in one of the wall, and the contents of the cabinets that had stood there previously were strewn across the floor.

Viviane stopped and looked at the damage. Then she looked at Cogman. "We'll take tea in the library."

* * *

Mattie ran around the corner of the house. She had promised Viviane she would come back within ten minutes, but she had to know.

She arrived at a scene of carnage. There were machine parts and scorched grass everywhere, and the Decepticon she'd seen earlier was lying in several pieces in front of what remained of the greenhouse. Beneath it, she spotted something yellow.

Before she'd made the conscious decision to, she was running flat out, screaming his name at the top of her lungs.

There was a groan, and part of the rubble pile underneath the Decepticon shifted. She ran up to it and started digging with her hands. "Bumblebee?" In response, the pile shifted again.

"Hang on," she said. "You're buried under a several tons of Decepticon, I can't shift him with my bare hands. I'll see how much I can get away. Ow!" She stuck the bleeding side of her hand in her mouth. "Crap, this is full of broken glass! I'll be right back."

She jogged past the Decepticon to the back end of the greenhouse. After a bit of poking through the rubble, she pulled up a shovel handle that fortunately still had a shovel attached to it, and ran back down to where she thought Bee was buried.

With the shovel, the going was much easier, and she had soon exposed a bit of Bee's arm. He seemed to be laying down on his stomach.

"Hey, Bee? I can't shift the 'Con. Can I have a thumbs-up on whether or not you're functional?"

The servo gave her a so-so sign, waggling the palm. Then he gave her the thumbs-up.

"Oh, good," she grinned, relieved. "I'm good too, by the way."

The thumbs-up came again.

"I'm going to have to ask Cogman if there's some way to shift this fellow off you," Mattie said. "I'll try to find your head first, though."

More careful digging, and some hauling away of the metal frames that had been part of the greenhouse, and she had unearthed enough of him to realize that she couldn't get him out without some serious machinery. She clambered back down to his servo, and sat down next to the digits, stroking them gently.

"I need to get some help, Bee," she said. "You just hang on in there, okay?" Impulsively, she leaned down and kissed the digits, one by one. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

He gave her the thumbs-up again.

Mattie rose, and turned towards the house. Then she froze.

There was a WW1 tank standing wedged against the house. His gun turret was mostly gone, and in its place was a gaping, ragged-edged hole.

"Oh no, Bulldog," Mattie whispered. She walked over to him, taking care to avoid the sharp metal that was strewn everywhere. Then she placed her hand on his Autobot mark.

_He's cold. He's gone._

"I'm so sorry, Bulldog," she whispered, eyes full of tears. "I'm so, so sorry." She leaned down and kissed the Autobot symbol.

A shiver ran through the tank. "Ch-Christie?" he groaned.

"No, it's Mattie," Mattie whispered in shock, staring at the tank with wide eyes.

"Christie, a ghràidh, I've missed you so," the old Autobot mumbled. "Have you come back to me? Or is it time finally?"

Mattie nodded and kissed the Autobot mark again, tears streaming down her face. "Yes, my love, it's time," she whispered. "Let your burdens go now."

Bulldog trembled. "I love you so much, Christie. I always have."

"Shh," Mattie crooned. "Don't fret, my love."

"I see you," Bulldog said suddenly, his voice clear and strong. "Oh, Christie, you're so beautiful with your hair that way."

"Then come with me, my love," Mattie whispered. "Come be with me again."

A final tremor ran through him. Then he was still.

* * *

Mattie pushed the door to the library open. Viviane arched an eyebrow at her.

"That's the longest ten minutes I think I've ever encountered," the older woman said. "Did they go forth and multiply on you?"

"Sorry," Mattie mumbled. "I had to try and get Bee out of the rubble, and then I had to stay with Bulldog for a while." Her voice caught in her throat. "I couldn't let him die alone."

"What?" Izabella croaked. Jacques walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh no," Viviane breathed. She put a hand to her eyes.

Mattie nodded. "The Decepticon…" She took a deep breath to steady herself. "The Decepticon got him. I thought he was already gone, but he reacted when I touched him."

Izabella buried her head in her arms, shoulders shaking as she cried. Viviane went over to her and held her tight.

"Poor old Bulldog," Cogman muttered. "Were the others all right? No one's answering on the comms."

"Bumblebee is buried under the Decepticon. I tried digging him out, but we need some sort of tractor or something." Mattie looked at Cogman. "Others, you said. Who else than Bumblebee and Bulldog?"

"Scattorshot," Cogman replied. "He's a resident, but to be honest I had never thought he would be active again. He's missing half his body. But he was the one who shot Thundercracker out of the sky. He's in a shed near the greenhouse."

"I didn't see anyone else," Mattie said. "The greenhouse is destroyed."

Izabella dried her tears and stood up. "Take me to him, Cogman," she said fiercely. "I can't help Bulldog anymore, but I will try and help Scattorshot."

"Yes, miss," the butler said.

"Come on," Viviane said, pulling Mattie along by the arm. "Let's go get Bee out of the ground."

* * *

Viviane wrenched the Land Rover into gear, and angled it diagonally away from the greenhouse. The winch cable tightened.

"Okay, you're good!" Mattie called. "Careful, now!"

Slowly, the big Decepticon arm began to move. With a screech of metal, it tore the rest of the way off the main body. Suddenly it sped up, and using the winch Viviane was able to shift it over to the big pile of alien rubble they were setting up on the lawn.

Mattie ran down where the arm had been, shovel in hand. "Bee? Can you stand up yet?"

There was a loud groan, and the rubble shifted somewhat.

"We'll need to get the main body off," Cogman said. "I'm not sure the winch is up to it."

"But we can try," Viviane said. She hooked the winch cable around Thundercracker's back strut. "It either works or it doesn't."

She got into the car again, and backed it up a bit. "Ready?"

Mattie squatted down next to where she thought Bee's head was. "Listen, Bee," she said. "Viviane's going to try pulling Thundercracker off you. She's going to be pulling to your right-hand side. So if you brace against something and try to push the same way, that may help."

He gave her the thumbs-up again, and she kissed the digit. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of there. I'm not giving up."

She stood, waving her arm over her head. "Okay, go!"

With a screech, the winch began pulling again. The car started sliding forward, but Viviane put the car in reverse and hit the gas pedal to counter the pull. For a moment, the winch cable was as tight as a bowstring, but then the big Decepticon body slowly, inexorably, began to move. The growl of the Land Rover's engine and the high-pitch whine of the winch mixed with the groaning of the metal body being pulled across the glass and debris of the greenhouse.

"Miss Mattie, move aside!" Cogman called. "It's too much for the winch, and the cable may snap!" Mattie backed up hurriedly.

With a clang, the winch engine seized up. Viviane revved the car's engine and started going backwards.

_She's hoping to use the car as a tow truck,_ Mattie realized. _But the car was never designed for this._

The big Decepticon husk moved another couple of inches, then lay still. Viviane looked at them and shrugged.

"That's the best the winch can do, I'm afraid," she called over the sound of the engine.

Mattie looked over at where Bee was buried. "It's not enough," she muttered, angrily rubbing away the tears that threatened to spill over. "He's still pinned under there."

Viviane cut the car engine and climbed out to check the winch. She unhooked the cable from Thundercracker's back strut, and tried to restart the winch.

Mattie walked over to the dead Decepticon. It hadn't been moved enough to free Bee. In pure frustration, she kicked it.

"You're doing it wrong," Jacques' voice said from behind her.

She turned and raised her eyebrows. "I'm kicking him wrong?"

Her brother grinned. "Silly Marie. No, your angle is all wrong. And you're ignoring all the laws of physics."

She chuckled and gave him a sarcastic curtsy. "Well then, by all means, master genius; enlighten us."

Jacques reddened slightly, but smiled at her and looked around. "You're trying to shift an inert mass by pulling it along a surface that is exercising a lot of friction on the mass. You're also using a low-set winch, so you're not relieving that friction either, and you're not getting any leverage. You need to reduce friction or increase leverage, or both."

Mattie just stared at him.

"I'll dumb it down," he chuckled. "You need to get him onto a smoother surface so he's easier to move, or you need to lift him somehow so he's not that stuck in the ground."

"Well, thank you," Mattie said. "Why didn't you just say that?"

He grinned at her, then turned to Cogman. "Go get Izzy, will you? She's with Scattorshot. We'll need her for this."

* * *

Soon, Jacques and Izabella had set up an ingenious system of pulleys and levers. Bulldog's old gun barrel was standing upright on the ground braced against a large chunk of masonry. The winch cable ran from the Decepticon's left shoulder, through a pulley fastened on top of the barrel, then to one fastened at the bottom, and then on to the winch engine that Izzy had fixed. In addition to that, a large metal strut had been wedged under the prone Decepticon and placed across a large pipe, with Mattie and Cogman preparing to weigh down the other end.

"Okay," Jacques said, crouching down next to where they thought Bumblebee's head was. "The idea here is to lift Thundercracker onto his side, instead of pulling him off, so you can free yourself enough to get out of there. I'll count to three, okay?"

He stood up and looked around. "Everybody ready? One – two – THREE!"

Cogman got up on the lever and transformed, so the Aston Martin was standing there. Mattie got in the driver's seat. Viviane started the winch.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Thundercracker started lifting up on his side.

"It's working!" Izabella said excitedly.

"Of course it's working," Jacques smirked at her. "Every physical law says it works."

"Come on, come on, come on, come on," Mattie muttered. "Get off him already."

Thundercracker's body lifted even higher. And Bumblebee exploded out of the ground, tearing through the winch cable and knocking the lever aside.

Mattie shakily got out of the car, letting Cogman transform again. She had a vague impression of Viviane doing the same and Jacques and Izabelle picking themselves up off the ground, but she only had eyes for the tall, yellow mech standing in front of her. He reached for her, and she ran to him.

"Mattie, STOP!" Viviane shouted.

Mattie turned and looked at her. "Why?" she screamed back, frustrated. Bumblebee snarled at Viviane.

"Because he's covered in broken glass!" Viviane called back. "Look at that shard in his arm! That could slice you open from heels to hairline without either of you even noticing, and then you would bleed out in minutes."

Mattie made herself stand still and look Bee over. Viviane was right.

"Crap. We need to get you cleaned up, Bee."

He nodded. Then he limped out on to the grass, and sat down carefully.

"He must have a ton of grit in his voicebox," Izzy said. "Since he's not speaking."

"Bee and his voicebox," Viviane muttered. "It's always that piece, isn't it."

Mattie followed Bee over to the grass lawn, stopping only to pick up a pair of working gloves and a bucket. She looked up at his face. "Hi, baby," she whispered. "I was so scared for you."

He stretched out a digit and stroked her face carefully.

Izabella walked up with a tool kit. "Lie down, Bee," she commanded. "Let me have a look at that voice box."

* * *

It took Izabella well over an hour to get Bee's voice box repaired to the point where he could speak again. Meanwhile, Mattie was picking broken glass and shrapnel from what seemed like every square inch of his body.

When the sun finally set, Izabella stood up. "Okay, that should have sorted the hip joint," she said tiredly. "Try moving."

Bumblebee stood up carefully. "It seems better," he croaked.

"Don't talk yet," Izabella said sternly. "We need to lubricate that voice box somehow, there are still small grains of sand in there."

"Let's all go inside," Viviane sighed. "None of you have eaten since breakfast, and I need to call Cade again."

Mattie felt a stab of fear, and then shame. _I completely forgot that the others had been in battle too._

"How are they?" she asked quietly. Bumblebee looked at Viviane questioningly.

"Last update I got, Hound and Hot Rod were down. But not life-threatening," she added, seeing their looks. "Just out for a while. Raptor and the other Dinobots need some work too. Lennox were apparently working on some new plan, he'll let us know when he's ready."

Mattie turned and started walking back to the house. After a moment, Viviane caught up to her. "Give me the bracelets," she said quietly. "I'll check the results while we wait for food and news."

Mattie raised her wrists and looked at the tracker and the Meta Coil. "You know, I completely forgot about these," she said with a small smile. "Go ahead. You'll only want to check the data up until lunch time though."

"You're probably right," Viviane agreed. "Anything after that won't really be reliable, will it? How are you holding up?"

"Me?" Mattie stared at her. "Why are you worried about me? I wasn't even hurt."

"No, but you've faced a lot this past year that you're not trained for. And you had a death vigil today. That's always hard."

Matte shook her head. "Those things – except for the vigil – are true for you as well, and Jacques and Izzy. Heck, it even goes for Cade." She eyed the older woman. "How are _you_ doing?"

"It's hard," Viviane sighed. "This situation where we're on different continents is getting really old really fast. Cade has been nagging at me to move to him – after this, I'm really considering it." She pursed her lips. "Though I'd have to give up my job."

"Something tells me nothing will be the same after today anyway," Mattie muttered. "Not with half the Autobots down."

* * *

"For you, miss Mattie," Cogman said, handing her a plate with an open-faced sandwich on it. "I'm sorry that it's not up to my usual standards, but the kitchen was pulverized."

"No problem," she smiled at him. "Thanks, Cogman."

It was late in the evening. They were sitting in what looked like a large meeting room/movie theater, with a large screen on one end and a series of desks in the other. Bumblebee was sitting in the back, and Mattie was sitting in his lap.

Viviane walked over to them, an iPad in her hand. "So we have time to go over the results from earlier today before Lennox' video call," she said quietly. She pulled up a chair and sat down, angling the screen so they could see it

"This is the activity tracker. Measuring your pulse." She pointed to a blue graph. "As you see, there is a spike at around noon, and then there is about thirty minutes with a steady, low heart rate. I imagine that's your resting heart rate, Mattie. It wouldn't normally show up like this, not unless you were meditating or in other ways trying to keep your heart rate consistently low over an extended period of time. Would I be correct in assuming that that's another blue mist moment?"

Mattie nodded, blushing slightly. "It fits the time."

"I thought so," Viviane nodded. "So I compared that period of time with the data from the Meta Coil. Let me tell you, that thing is a trick to read, and it doesn't keep time nearly as accurately as I had hoped. But I got some readings." She pointed to a graph with orange and green lines. "See the orange, wibbly-wobbly line? As far as I can tell, that one traces Energon radiation. See how it spikes, then stays at a high hum for a good while? And the green line is your own energy output, Mattie – that is, your own body heat. You see how it's lowered at the same time as the other graphs spike?"

Mattie nodded. "So what does it all mean?"

Viviane shrugged. "That's anyone's guess. I'm not a physician, so I can't tell you the effect on you. But I know this much: it seems to put you in some sort of deep sleep or stasis, where your body is resting. And the level of radiation are nowhere near what is considered dangerous, even with repeated exposure. Which I assume is a given." She shot them a saucy grin.

"I talked to Bulldog about it," Bumblebee croaked. "He said it was beneficial."

"That's right," Mattie realized. "He had a human mate, too. Her name was Christie, he thought I was her." She looked at Viviane. "I went along with it. It seemed to bring him some comfort."

"Then it was the right thing to do," Viviane nodded. "Christie, huh? I'll look through the archives, see if I can find something on her."

"It was Cairistiòna," Bumblebee grunted.

"Don't talk, silly," Mattie said. "Just nod or shake your head. I take it Bulldog had personal experience with this?"

Bee nodded.

"And he said it was beneficial? As in, it helped her somehow?" Viviane asked.

Bee nodded again.

"Well, that's good to know, at least," Mattie sighed. "Poor old Bulldog. I wish I could have gotten to talk to him."

"You were there when it mattered," Viviane said, squeezing her hand.

The TV suddenly flashed on. Lennox' face filled the screen.

"Oh," Viviane said, standing. "Showtime." She walked over to the center of the room, where the meeting equipment was set up, and touched a few buttons.

"Hey, Lennox," she called. "Can you see us? Hear me okay?"

"Loud and clear, Viv," he replied. "It's good to see you guys."

"You, too," Viviane replied. "So how are you doing?"

Lennox sighed. "Long story short, we were hit on three fronts. Hot Rod took down Octane, but not before he'd taken some serious damage. Skywarp did a number on Hound before we drove him off. The Dinobots took down Scourge and Blitzwing before either could do much damage, but all of them will need some repair. We also lost a bunch of soldiers and two buildings."

"It sounds like you need me back," Izabella stated.

Lennox grinned on-screen. "Definitely."

"Well, we were hit here too, as you know," Viviane said. "Thundercracker destroyed parts of the building before we could take him down, and we also had about twenty drones come in. I don't know if Thundercracker brought them or not. Bee's got some minor injuries, the rest of us are okay. But we lost Bulldog."

"I'm sorry," Lennox said. "I really am. A lot of this is on me, since the plan was mine."

"You were trying to sniff out the leak," Mattie said. "You didn't set them on us, someone else did."

"Yeah." He scrubbed his hand though his hair. "I have a theory, but it's not fit for an open line. Listen. I'm sending transports to pick all of you up tomorrow. And when I say all of you, I mean all of you – including you, Cogman, and whichever other older residents you have at that estate out there. We're all moving location. I'll send you the details via another channel." Then he grinned. "Someone else wants to talk to you, so just hang on for a moment."

The camera turned. It seemed to be aiming into the workshop, and it wobbled a bit as if the laptop was being moved to another room. Then Cade came into view.

He looked up and grinned. "Hey, all my girls! How're you guys doing?"

"Better than you, it seems," Viviane said disapprovingly. There was a thin line of blood running down the side of Cade's face.

"I love you too," Cade grinned. "It just a scratch. Hey, Mattie, you should be really proud of the Dinos, we couldn't have done this without them!"

"I'm always proud of the Dinos," Mattie grinned. "Take good care of them for me, okay?"

He nodded. "Sure thing. Anyway, we'll see you guys soon, okay?"

Lennox popped into the picture again. "So, I've got to close the connection now," he said. "We'll see you around. Take care of yourselves."

"You, too," Viviane said. Then the screen turned black again.

Mattie folded her sandwich over, and took it with her as she walked over to Viviane. "I'm staying outside with Bumblebee tonight," she said quietly. "You'll make sure the kids are okay?"

"I heard that," Jacques said. "Kids, really?"

Mattie grinned and ruffled his hair. "Always a kid to me, kid."

"I expected you would, so I asked Cogman to carry some blankets and a pillow out to the garage," Viviane said. "We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Mattie gave her a quick hug. "Thanks, Viviane."

* * *

Mattie snuggled up against Bumblebee's spark chamber.

"I suppose it's too much to ask that we'll get a break from all this chaos for a while," she murmured. "I'd love some time with just me and you, where I didn't have to worry that someone would shoot at us."

The spark hummed under her hand, and Bumblebee put a servo around her and cradled her close.

"Yeah, I know," Mattie said. "I love you too. More than you know." She twisted and kissed the spark casing, causing him to shiver. Gently, she let one finger trace its way along the warm metal. "If we have time tomorrow before the pick-up, I'll clean you up properly. You're not as soft as you should be."

Bee shook in silent laughter, and he leaned down and kissed her head. Then he pulled the blanket closer around her.

"Do you realize we just arrived on this continent two days ago, and already we've been attacked?" Mattie asked rhetorically. "And tomorrow we're moving on to God knows where."

"Sorry for/getting you into this," Bee's radio whispered. "You deserve better."

"There's no better," Mattie said, still stroking his spark chamber. "This is the best."

"Maybe/with a/human/you wouldn't be in so much trouble," Bee muttered. "Maybe/you'd be safe."

"Maybe I'd be dead," Mattie countered. "Stop it, Bee. I've told you before. This is what I want." She looked up at him. "Are you saying it's not what you want?"

Bee shuddered and pulled her close. "Never/live without you," he said fiercely.

"Yeah, me neither," Mattie smiled. "You're stuck with me."

In response, Bee started playing her own recordings back at her. She fell asleep with 'Silent worship' echoing in the garage.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow I screwed up the chapter order! Sorry about that! Should be good now.

The three giant cargo planes completely dwarfed the buildings next to the runway. Mattie stared at them in surprise. "How many of us did he think there were?"

Izabella giggled.

"One is for hauling the dead," Viviane said. "One is for us. The last, I guess, is because Lennox is playing it safe. Or he's bringing more equipment out of here."

A soldier walked out of the nearest plane and came towards them. He stopped in front of Mattie and saluted. "Lieutenant Hadley, ma'am. We need all civilians, plus Bumblebee, Cogman and Sqweeks, in the plane to the left ASAP. These your bags?"

Mattie nodded, and the lieutenant waved at two other soldiers to come take their luggage.

"What about Scattorshot and the others from the mansion?" Izabella asked.

"Already onboard, miss," Hadley replied. "They were taken straight in early this morning. We just need you, and we're ready to go."

Mattie turned to Jacques. "Please go back to France," she said. "This isn't your fight. You can just walk away."

He stared at her incredulously. "And leave my sister in the claws of these sinister aliens? No way." His face split in a familiar grin. "Besides, my maths course doesn't start for another three weeks. And there's so much I can _learn_ here."

"Oh, let him stay," Izabella said, shouldering her backpack. "Who knows, maybe we'll even be able to teach him something useful."

Jacques grimaced. "Knowing physics and math is useful."

Izzy grinned at him. "You know what I mean. Something practical. Oh, come on, don't look at me like that."

Mattie threw her hands up. "Oh, okay. It's not like I've ever been able to talk you out of anything."

Jacques grinned and walked past her, heading for the plane. Viviane and Sqweeks followed him.

Mattie grabbed Izabella's sleeve, holding her back. "Don't think I don't know that you have ulterior motives here." She grinned at the younger girl.

"What, me? I have no motives whatsoever." Izabella gave her such a look of wide-eyed innocence that Mattie almost believed her. Then she grinned mischievously. "Or maybe I do. I did tell you I thought he was really cute."

Mattie grinned and shouldered her own backpack. "Oh, shut up. Let's get on that plane."

She followed the others towards the closest cargo plane, where the soldiers already were bringing Johnnie and her suitcase onboard. The plane was a whopper of a machine, easily the largest plane she'd ever ridden in. Bumblebee, walking in on his own, was dwarfed by the large cargo bay.

She tried to follow Bee over to one of the compartments with wheel anchors, but one of the soldiers took her arm.

"The civilians go up front, ma'am. Colonel Lennox' orders."

Mattie frowned at him. "I can't ride with Bee?"

Bumblebee heard her and turned back.

"Don't worry/angel," he said through the radio. His voice box was still gritty. "I'll just get some/recharge." He went down on his knee and kissed her head. She could hear some of the soldiers muttering behind her.

"Soldier, is this a long trip or a short one?" Mattie asked the man still holding her arm.

"A fairly long one, ma'am."

"Then I'll make Lennox pay for keeping me away from you," Mattie mumbled, walking up to Bee and pressing her lips against his chest armor.

He chuckled hoarsely. "Poor colonel Lennox."

"Don't speak, you idiot." She frowned at him. "I'll see you wherever, okay?"

He touched her cheek briefly with one digit, then turned and entered a compartment with wheel anchors on the floor.

Mattie let the soldier escort her to the front end of the plane where the others were waiting. Some of the soldiers they passed were staring at her openly, and she felt like snarling at them.

"What are you staring at?" she said instead, as they passed one group that just really couldn't keep their eyes to themselves.

"Nothing, ma'am," one said, blushing slightly.

"Damn right," Mattie grunted. "None of your business anyway." _This is so annoying. Damn Lennox, he'd better have a good reason for this._

Soon, she was settled in a seat along one long wall, Izabella on one side and Jacques on the other. She leaned back against the seatback disgruntledly.

One of the soldiers across from her leaned forward and stretched out his hand. "Hi. I'm Quinn."

Mattie leaned forward and took the proffered hand. "Mattie Eden. Nice to meet you. This is Viviane, Izabella, my brother Jacques."

"Hi." He indicated the soldiers around him. "Michaels, Peregrine, Wolfe, Ryan, Johnson." Then he leaned forward again, smiling at her. "You any good with that guitar?"

"Johnnie? Sure," Mattie replied, grinning. "Why else would I drag him around everywhere?"

"I don't know," Quinn replied, smirking at her. "Maybe it's really just a case full of makeup or something."

Mattie snorted. "Like I would get that through security."

Quinn grinned at her. He was around her age, she noticed, with bright blue eyes and the short soldier buzz covering his scalp. He looked like he smiled a lot.

"Hey, you're not afraid to fly, are you?" he said suddenly. Then he smirked at her. "You know, you can sit in my lap if you get scared."

"Gee, thanks," Mattie said. _That's… the cheesiest pick-up line I think I've ever heard._ "Good thing I'm not afraid of flying." Izabella began laughing so hard she doubled over.

Quinn just shot her a crooked grin. "Just wait until we hit turbulence, it will look way safer over here. You'll change your mind yet." He winked.

"Quinn, stop hitting on the girl," Johnson said tiredly. He had his cap pulled down over his eyes. "She's taken."

"Oh?" Quinn shot him a sideways look. "I don't see a sign on her or anything."

"Miss Eden's datin' an Autobot," Ryan said, eyeing his fellow soldier smugly.

Quinn stared at her. "Really?" He grinned. "Which one?"

"Bumblebee," Jacques replied for her. "The yellow Camaro."

"Huh." Quinn looked interested, then he narrowed his eyes. "How do you manage?"

"What?" Mattie said curtly. _This guy's really starting to piss me off._

"You know," he leered. "How do you do… it?"

Mattie stared at him. "Often, and with great enthusiasm," she sneered.

Ryan grinned and shook his head.

Quinn just eyed her slowly, from her knees to her shoulders and back. "Wow. You must be really…"

"Really…?" Mattie asked, frowning at him. She felt like she should cover herself from that stare, he was really stripping her naked with his eyes.

"Flexible," he smirked.

Mattie flinched.

"Quinn!"

The soldier looked up at lieutenant Hadley. "Sir?"

"Armory. Now." He pointed back towards the back end of the plane. "You will spend the trip cleaning up every single weapon in there, until I'm satisfied. Don't ever let me her you talk to a woman that way again."

Quinn glared at her, then stomped off. "Yes, sir."

Hadley walked past them into the cockpit. "We'll be off in a minute, lads. Ladies."

Mattie looked at her hands. _I really, really wish I was back with Bumblebee right now._ Izzy took one of her hands in her own.

"Ma'am?" It was Ryan, he was leaning forward and looking at her. "Miss Eden? Ah'm sorry about him. Quinn can be a real dick."

"It's okay," Mattie mumbled. "I guess I should get used to that kind of reaction."

He shook his head. "No, you shouldn't," he said. "What people think inside their own minds is one thing. That don't give 'em the right to talk to anybody like that. Don't let that moron bother you."

"Thanks," Mattie murmured. "I'll try."

"No problem." He shot her a wide grin. "Say, once we get airborne, you up for a duel?"

Mattie frowned at him. "A duel?" _Is he hitting on me, too? God, I wish I was back with Bee._

"Sure," he said. Then he pointed underneath his seat. "Ah hear your Johnnie's got a real wicked sound, but Ah'd like to see him beat my Grace."

Mattie leaned forward. There was a guitar case under Ryan's seat, too.

She grinned, relieved. "You're on." _Thank God. Maybe this flight will be bearable, after all._

* * *

"Wake up, Mattie." Someone shook her by the shoulder.

"All right, boys and girls! We'll be landing in ten minutes!" The voice was gruff and unfamiliar. Mattie opened her eyes slowly.

She was still in her seat in the plane, with her head resting against her brother's shoulder. She looked up, a bit groggy. Lieutenant Hadley was standing outside the cockpit door, looking around at them.

She looked at her friends, then across at the soldiers. Most of them were still sleeping – Izabella was watching her, but the others had barely moved.

She saw the lieutenant draw a deep breath, and straightened in her seat. Izabella started frantically trying to shake Viviane awake.

"All right, UP!" the lieutenant roared. Jacques jumped in his seat and looked around with wide eyes.

Hadley waited until everyone was looking at him, then nodded. "We'll be landing in ten minutes," he repeated. "Get ready." Then he turned and disappeared back into the cockpit, leaving the door open behind him.

Mattie looked at Viviane. "Get ready how?"

"The usual," Ryan said from his seat opposite her. "Please put your seat in an upright position, put down the armrest, stow your luggage under the seat in front of you or in the overhead compartment. Since we don't have either of those, jus' slide 'em under your seat." He grinned and nudged his guitar case with his foot.

The night before had actually been fun. Ryan's Grace had turned out to be a steel-stringed bluegrass guitar, and he was quite good at it. They'd been trading songs back and forth for over an hour.

The plane began descending.

"I can't wait to be back on the ground," Viviane groaned. "I was never meant to sleep sitting upright in an airplane seat for six hours. Where are we, anyway?" She stretched and tried to look out the cockpit window.

"We'll find out when we land," Wolfe said. "Nobody but the pilots and the lieutenant have been told."

"Huh," Izzy said. "Lennox must be still worried about the leak."

"Based on what he said, I think he has a theory now," Viviane nodded. "But he really doesn't trust the phone lines enough to tell us."

* * *

They landed with a gentle thump. Mattie and the others followed Hadley down to the base of the boarding ramp, where there was another soldier waiting for them. "Welcome to Diego Garcia naval base!" he cried. "Pay attention, please! All military personnel will go to hangar one! All Cybertronians will go to hangar three! All civilians will go to the administrations building!"

Mattie raised her eyebrows. "Diego Garcia?"

"There's Cade," Izzy grinned, pointing at a figure in front of a building next to the runway. Viviane sped up slightly.

"Hey!" Cade called, jogging towards them. "I've missed you guys!"

He caught up Viviane in a big hug, lifting her off the ground. "Hi, darlin'!"

"Cade, what is going on?" Izabella said. "Why did the Autobots have to go to another hangar, why couldn't we go with them?"

"They all need to be scanned," Cade said. "It's no biggie. Lennox is checking for listening devices. He's called a meeting tonight to tell us what's going on."

Jacques cleared his throat.

"Oh! Cade, there's someone you have to meet." Mattie pulled her brother forward. "This is my brother Jacques Marcel. Jacques, this is Cade Yeager."

"Hey, kid, nice to meet you," Cade said. "Listen, I hear you're good at physics. I need you and Izzy to come help me figure something out." He dragged the pair of them into the building behind him.

Mattie turned and looked back towards the plane. Bumblebee was driving slowly away from it, away from her. One of the soldiers walking the other way shot her an angry look.

 _That's Quinn_ , she realized. _He blames me for embarrassing him in front of the others._

Viviane walked up next to her. "That one holds a grudge against you," she said, noticing Quinn's glare. "Let's hope no one tells Bee. Bee would flatten him."

Mattie grinned. "Wouldn't that be a sight to see."

Viviane smiled and took her hand. "Come on. Let's get some food into you."


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a week late. I was on holiday last week, and the internet connection was so wonky it wouldn't let me upload.  
> Edit: somehow I screwed up the chapter order! Sorry about that!

"Hey, Mattie!"

Mattie looked up. Ryan, the soldier from the plane, was standing by the open doorway, grinning at her.

"Hey, Ryan!" she beamed. "You got cleared?"

"Yup, got through the scan, no problem," he said. "And Ah brought someone who's missed you somethin' awful."

Mattie walked out, curious. "Really?"

Bumblebee was standing outside the building.

Mattie barely had time to register it before she was lifted up in the air and held tight up against his warm chest.

"Missed you/angel," he grunted. "Every waking minute."

She leaned in and kissed the Autobot symbol on his chest. "I missed you too. If it wasn't for Ryan here, that plane trip would have sucked big time. I'm going to kick Lennox' butt. Or at least prod some serious buttock."

Ryan chuckled. "Prod some serious buttock, huh?" He looked up at them. "Cute."

Mattie grinned, and let her fingers run across Bee's mouth and face plates. "You're still gritty," she murmured. "Put me down for a sec, will you?"

He tightened his hold. "No. You're mine."

Ryan laughed, somewhere under her feet. "Hey, mr. Yeager! Is there a workshop or somethin' hereabouts? Ah think someone feels the need to give a certain Autobot a good ol'fashioned scrubbing!"

Cade walked out, still holding on to Viviane. He chuckled. "Sure. Actually, we might as well all go. Izzy's needed, and Hot Rod's been asking for you, Viviane. He feels like crap because you were attacked when he wasn't around to protect you." He paused, and pulled her closer. "So do I."

Viviane kissed him lightly and smiled. "Don't worry about us anymore. We survived."

"Most of us did, anyway," Mattie added sadly.

"Yes," Viviane agreed. "Most of us."

"I'm sorry about Bulldog," Cade said, looking from one of them to the other. "I met him, the first time I visited the mansion. He seemed decent."

"He was great," Izzy confirmed as she walked out, towing Jacques behind her. "Great sense of humor for an old guy." She looked up at Cade. "Please, point me towards someone I can fix. I need to fix something."

Cade ruffled her hair, ignoring her indignant frown. "Sure, kid. Anything you say."

* * *

The sponge was as big as her hand. Mattie dipped it into the big bucket, careful to soak up as much of the hot, soapy water as possible. Then she lifted it carefully, trying not to drip everywhere, and let the warm water ooze off against Bumblebee's leg. He sighed contentedly as she began pushing the sponge in slow, steady circles.

They were out on the tarmac behind the workshop. Cade had given Bumblebee a once-over, checking Izzy's repairs, fixing a few things she hadn't known about or been able to fix, and then he'd oiled Bee's voice box and told him to not use it for a day or so, chuckling and eyeing Mattie as he did. Now the big Autobot was sitting up against the wall, leaned back casually, while Mattie was busy cleaning every bit of him that she could reach.

"That feels/so good," he said. "I see why/humans like/showers/so much."

Mattie smiled and dipped the sponge again. "I'll make you silky smooth again. Soon you'll be fit to cuddle."

He snorted and picked her up. "Are you saying/I'm not fit to/cuddle now?" He shot her a naughty grin.

"Oh no," Mattie gaped, understanding his intent finally. "Oh no, don't you dare, Bee, you're soaking wet, no, Bee, wait no-"

His mouth on hers forced her to stop talking. The wet sponge was squeezed between them, and soon her shirt was soaked. Still, he didn't let her go, just pulled her tighter. _I'm going to faint_.

Bumblebee broke away from the kiss, only to start nuzzling at her shirt. "Am I/clean yet?"

"Not by a long shot," Mattie gasped, trembling. "I've only soaped up one leg!"

"Yeah, but you/used the water hose/on the rest of me," he mumbled against her abdomen. "And I missed you so much. I just want to steal you away, babe." One digit gently tugged at her shirt. "I want to test/your/biological/response again." She could practically hear the smirk in his radio voice.

"But we're on a military base, full of soldiers," she protested feebly.

"Yeah, but/I've been here before/I know all the hideouts," Bumblebee said against the bare skin of her stomach. Somehow, he'd managed to sneak her shirt out of the way, and was planting tiny – for him – kisses all along the top of her pants. She moaned quietly, and he chuckled. "Lose the/sponge/angel. We're going now."

Mattie dropped the sponge to the ground.

Bee grinned and stood up, cradling her close to his chest. Then he headed across the tarmac over to the sloping beaches, and soon the buildings were out of sight.

"What if we get lost," Mattie whispered.

Bee laughed quietly. "I never get lost./And it's a/very narrow/island."

"But there's a meeting tonight," Mattie murmured. "What if we're late?"

Bee stopped and held her up so he could look in her eyes. His face was suddenly serious. "You don't want to do this?/Because we can go back."

"No, I do want to," Mattie said, shaking her head. "It's just…"

"It's just/what? Why are you/so nervous?"

_Yes, why am I so nervous? And embarrassed, and self-conscious, and – oh. That's why._

"You remember I told you that if it hadn't been for Ryan that trip would have been horrible?" she murmured, looking down at her hands again.

"Yes/I owe him/thanks for that."

"Well…" Mattie continued in a near-whisper. "The reason that it would have been horrible is that someone said something to me that made me feel really bad about myself."

Bumblebee tensed. "Tell me who it was/and I'll pummel the/ _slagger_ /into the ground," he growled.

_Wow, now he looks dangerous._

"I know you will, Bee, and I don't want you to. Hadley took him down a few notches anyway, for speaking to me like that."

Bee huffed. "Well then/at least/let me prove to you that/you don't have to feel bad." He pulled her close and held her tight as he began walking again. "You're perfect."

Mattie nestled up against his chest armor. "It's silly, really," she muttered. "I shouldn't let him get to me. I thought I was better than that."

Bumblebee climbed over a sand dune. "We're here."

'Here' turned out to be a little hollow, surrounded by rocks, with the water lapping against it. Mattie grinned. "You know, Bee, you find the prettiest places."

"Yeah, I'm good," Bee grinned smugly. He put her down gently on the sand and managed to squeeze his large frame down beside her. One digit started stroking her hair.

"So what exactly/did he say to you/to make you so upset?"

Mattie frowned. "It was stupid, really. He hit on me, I rebuffed him, and when he learned I was dating you he basically made it sound like I was this huge slut that was only in it for the size of your – well, you know."

He blinked. "Oh. Oh! I get it." He sniggered. "Moron."

"Yeah," Mattie agreed, a little relieved. "Moron."

"Why did that/upset you so much/though? You know it's not true."

Mattie sighed. "Remember, once I told you that there was a short story and a long story as to why I left home?" She waited for him to nod. "It's part of the long story."

He looked at her expectantly.

_Do I tell him everything? I think I have to, at this point._ She took a deep breath.

"You see, when I was a kid, I was bullied. A lot. I was always taken down on the way back from school, I was beaten weekly, my things were constantly stolen or ruined. It was really bad. So to compensate, I started hanging out with a gang of guys a few years older than me. They tolerated me well enough, and I thought they were my friends." Her voice was bitter. "Of course, they weren't. So I thought, lost as I was, that if they didn't like me for my mind, they could like me for my body. So I handed it out on a silver platter. Not the most intelligent thing to do. But I finally felt like I was worth something."

She looked up at Bumblebee, biting her lip. _What's he going to think about this next part?_

"And then I came to school one Monday, and discovered that everyone had pictures of me having sex on their cellphones. The bastard had filmed me." She took a deep breath. "Before I knew it, the pictures and film were all over the Internet."

Bumblebee looked dumbstruck. _Well, at least he's not freaking out._

"Since I was just fourteen, it was technically a criminal offence both to take the pictures and film and to spread them online. It counted as child pornography." She pulled a face. "Not that that helped. We tried pressing charges, but there was little precedent for the case, so we didn't really get anywhere. And there's no way to remove the pictures from the internet either - once it's out there, it's never going away." She didn't dare look at the tall yellow Autobot now. "So I hid away. I was homeschooled for the rest of the school year. I never left the farm. I know my parents were really worried about me.

Then I was supposed to start my Lycée, and my family convinced me to actually go to school this time, not just stay home. So I tried, choosing another school than I had intended originally, and to my surprise it seemed like the whole thing had been forgotten." She grinned mirthlessly. "Not that I talked to anyone even so, but at least I got an education. And I took up music. Gradually, it got better, until I felt confidence in myself again and started standing on my own two feet. That's why my mom got me Johnnie, to celebrate that I'd finally found my way out of the dark. And that's why they let me go to America. I needed a fresh start."

Mattie looked up at Bumblebee. He was still staring at her. "Appalled yet?" she asked, only half-teasing, and more nervous about his answer than she cared to admit.

"Are you kidding? I can't believe/that those things/really happened to you. I'm so sorry," He lifted his digit, gently stroking her face.

"I'm not," Mattie said. "Sure, I wish I had never happened, and I'd give almost anything to get those pictures removed, but that's never going to happen. And without it I wouldn't have Johnnie, and I wouldn't be here with you. So it was worth it, in the end." She shook her head. "I thought I had gotten past it. Then Quinn shoots his mouth off once, and I flash back to where I was at fourteen. Good thing I have you, huh?"

"It was/Quinn?" Bumblebee growled. There was a dangerous undertone in his voice, and Mattie felt a chill run up her spine.

_Damn_. "Please forget I said that," Mattie said quietly, looking up at him. "Please. I don't want you to go after him. Can't you just – just stay here with me? Please?"

He groaned, then leaned down and kissed her. "Okay. But only because/you said please." Then he moved down towards her stomach again, and she forgot what she was saying.


	27. Chapter 27

Lennox had set up the largest hangar with a lot of electronical equipment. Mattie walked carefully so she wouldn't bump into anything. She could see Izzy and her brother looking around with interest.

There was a large table set up in the middle of the vast space. The soldiers, the Autobots that were still on their feet, and the civilians took places around it. Lennox was already standing on a box at the head of the table.

"File in, please," he called. "Let's get those doors closed and the dampeners activated."

Lieutenant Hadley closed the doors, and fiddled with some buttons connected to the wires that crisscrossed the walls. There was a sudden crackle of electricity. Mattie nervously moved closer to the center of the room.

"So!" Lennox called. "I guess you're all wondering what's going on, huh?"

Ryan caught Mattie's eye, and grinned at her.

"As you know, we've had contacts non-stop the last three months, starting with Berserker and ending now with an attack on multiple fronts. We've suspected there's been a leak, and now we've found it. Or, should I say, them." He indicated the table in front of him. "Just one piece missing, I think. Sqweeks, if you will?"

The little robot drove up to Cade, who bent down and removed his longest arm.

"What are you doing to his arm?" Izabella protested.

Lennox glanced at her. "Not his arm, I'm afraid, Izzy. Not originally."

Cade straightened, and threw the arm on the table, where it landed on a pile of other pieces of metal. They were in all sizes and shapes - some looked like gun parts, while others were just flat pieces of metal.

"Optimus?" Lennox looked up at Prime. "Care to explain?"

Optimus took a step forward and looked around at them. "Behold the remains of Frenzy, one of Soundwave's underlings."

Mattie stared at the metal on the table. _Those pieces are… a corpse?_

"Frenzy was killed some time ago," Optimus continued. "Before the battle in Mission City. But his body has an autonomous nervous system." He leaned down and touched one of the metal pieces with a live wire, and suddenly the pieces started assembling themselves. When Prime removed the wire, the pieces fell still.

Optimus straightened again. "Given the right contact, these pieces are active. They're functioning independently, and they're broadcasting."

"And each and every one of these pieces has been removed from either an Autobot or a piece of military gear," Lennox said.

There was silence.

"Are you saying," Jacques said, "that these are autonomous broadcasting units that are using extraneous power sources in the vicinity to function?"

Lennox just stared at him.

"Yes, that is correct," Optimus replied.

"Is the effect cumulative?" Jacques walked closer to the table. "Are they independently functional, or do they only function as a cluster?"

"Both, it seems," Optimus replied. "The effect is stronger in clusters, but the signal is still there when they're isolated."

"Um," Ryan said. "Ah didn' catch half of that. Can you dumb it down?"

This time it was Jacques' turn to stare. Mattie giggled. _I bet it didn't even occurred to him that nobody but Optimus completely understood that._

"Basically, each one of these pieces send out a signal," Viviane said. "They're powered by whatever they're attached to, and the signal is stronger when there are more pieces together. Am I right?"

Optimus nodded.

"So…" Mattie said. "So these are the leaks? These – things – have been leaking information to the Decepticons?"

"Not information, we think," Lennox replied. "The signal is merely a locating beacon. We think that's why the Decepticons have been attacking so many fronts – they know we're there, but they don't know the details."

"So when Berserker turned and ran away from you guys…" Mattie said questioningly.

Optimus nodded. "He was alerted by the broadcasted signal. There were pieces on every bot, and so many in a cluster must have been a strong warning beacon."

"That's how Thundercracker found us on the estate too, then," Viviane said. "With Sqweeks and Bumblebee together, the signal became strong enough to trace."

"So…" Izabella said. She looked up at Optimus. "So we kind of did this to ourselves. Cade and me, we've been attaching those pieces to everything."

Optimus knelt down and looked at her. "Yes. But this is not your fault, child. We did not know this."

"Did the 'Cons plan it?" one of the soldiers asked. Mattie recognized him suddenly. _He was in the warehouse with me when Berserker attacked. Heimling._

"It's hard to say," Optimus replied. "If it was planned, it speaks of a level of design far beyond the usual Decepticon activity. They couldn't even know if it would work. I think it's far more likely that they simply stumbled upon Frenzy's signal and decided to make use of it."

"Then who is behind it?" Mattie asked. They looked at her. "Well, someone is behind it. Berserker didn't free himself from prison."

Lennox looked at Optimus.

"We are not sure," the tall Autobot replied. "We will have a private meeting tomorrow to discuss this."

"General Morshower is en route here as we speak," Lennox added. "We will inform you if there is more you need to know. For now, these are the rules set in place because of this:

First, no new tech or spare pieces will be added to any 'bot or gear unless it's undergone a screening process. We think we have all the pieces of Frenzy here, but who's to say that Soundwave didn't have more creatures with this ability.

Second, for now, all communications with the outside world will go through me. We thought we had secure lines before, we were wrong. That's also why the entire island has been covered by a static wall – no signals in, no signals out.

Third, again for now, the Autobots are confined to this island. Military personnel and civilians may apply to leave, but know that leave may not necessarily be granted."

He looked around at them. "We can't afford to lose more people, human or Transformer. These rules will remain in place until otherwise notified. You're dismissed."

The soldiers turned and headed for the door, and Mattie turned to follow them, but Cade interrupted her.

"Hey, Mattie, Jacques, come here." Cade placed his arm around her brother's shoulders, and turned him to face Lennox and Optimus. "Guys, this is Mattie's brother Jacques. Jacques, this is Colonel Lennox and Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots."

Jacques took Lennox' hand and shook it. "Call me Jack," he grinned. Mattie raised her eyebrows at him. "What? He said defensively. "If you can be Mattie, I can be Jack. Besides, the way some of these Americans pronounce my name, it's atrocious."

"Nice to meet you," Lennox said. "Sorry that you got dragged into this. That was never our intent."

Jacques shrugged. "It's no problem. I have three weeks before I have someplace I have to be, and if I miss that, then we'll have to figure something out."

"You have a very keen mind for a young human," Optimus rumbled. "It would please me to teach you some of what we know while you're here, if you want to."

Jacques stared. "Are you kidding? That would be so cool!"

"Then it's settled," Optimus said. "Barring other obligations, I will meet you each night at eight, and we will talk."

"Thanks," Jacques breathed. _He's grinning so widely, it's a wonder his head hasn't split._

Lennox turned to her. "Mattie, we're going to need Bee for most of the days here. But the Dinobots are here, and I know Charger's itching to go running with you again. You can pretty much roam wherever you want on the island, as long as you're with him we can find you if you get lost."

"Sounds good, thanks," Mattie said. She raised her hand to her mouth and stifled a yawn. "I need to hit the sack, though. See you guys around?"

"We'll see you tomorrow," Lennox confirmed.

"Good. Come on, _Jack_ ," she said, pulling at his arm. "Let's see if this base has a bed for us somewhere."

* * *

Lennox waited on the tarmac while the plane slowed to a stop. He saluted as the general and his aide disembarked the plane, and fell into step beside him.

"Welcome to Diego Garcia, sir."

"Thank you, colonel," the older man replied, looking around. "Never thought we'd be back here again."

"Bumblebee and Optimus are waiting for us over in hangar one," Lennox said.

"It's only the four of us?"

"Yes," Lennox nodded. "No one else has clearance or information we need."

"Good," the general nodded. "We may actually get somewhere then."

As they entered the hangar, Morshower looked up at the Autobots. "Good morning, gentlemen. My condolences on your recent loss."

"Thank you, general," Optimus replied. "Bulldog died honorably, defending innocent civilians."

"The only way to go, for an old soldier," Morshower nodded. "Now, let's get to it. I hope you have coffee."

He walked over to the table set down on an elevated platform in the center of the room. It was covered in documents.

"As you know, sir, we've had multiple contacts the last three months. We thought we had a leak, and in the last days we've identified and eliminated it. It turned out to be Decepticon tech incorporated into our troops, and into the Autobots, and it was broadcasting a wide range signal that the enemy was able to track. That's how they found us." He looked up at the Autobots. "The questions now are who was behind it, and what we can expect next."

"The attacks were spread out, and in themselves not fatal," Optimus said. "Had the Decepticons concentrated their forces, they could have destroyed us all. As it was, we've suffered some injuries, but only one casualty."

"It does not seem like Megatron," Bumblebee said. "Not splitting up his team like that, sending Thundercracker to England without backup. Megatron would probably have scouted the different locations where the signals were emanating from – he had the Seekers for it. Then he would have used his full force to take down the group most likely to contain Optimus."

"That sounds plausible," Morshower agreed. "You have more experience with Megatron than us, but this subtlety and feinting do not match his previous actions."

"But if it's not Megatron…" Lennox said.

"Then who else is it?" Optimus said. "You are right, colonel." He turned, and projected a hologram in front of them. "Thundercracker, Skywarp, Blitzwing, Scourge, and Berserker. We would not normally find these acting so coordinated on their own accord, someone has always been directing them. But we're running out of suspects. Starscream, Soundwave and Shockwave are all dead, and Megatron is missing. There is a power vacuum there."

"We took down everyone but Skywarp," Bumblebee added. "The coward turned and fled before Crosshairs could finish him off."

"Which also indicates that we are not dealing with Megatron," Optimus nodded. "He was – is – reckless, mad even, and careless with his troops, but the Decepticons are as decimated as the Autobots. There is no way he would just waste four strong fighters like that."

The general pulled out a pile of documents from his briefcase. "These are reports collected on the horns of Unicron," he said. "So far, the draining of energy from the Earth's core seem to have had few ill effects, thankfully. We may have shaved a thousand years or so from the expected life expectancy of the planet, but that's not an immediate problem. And most especially, it is not my problem." He indicated one of the reports in front of him. "This is. One of the research teams working on the horns has vanished, without a trace. Five men, and a full security attachment, gone overnight."

Lennox leaned in, looking at the report. "Not the most stable region. Do we suspect a terrorist attack?"

"We did, and we ruled it out," Morshower replied. "Too quiet. No big announcement, no explosions, no ransom demands, no demoralizing videos. They're just – gone." He pulled out another file, and spread the documents out on the table. "But one of our drones took this." He pointed at an aerial surveillance picture. "These are the scientists, and the security detail. But this figure –" he pointed at a slight figure at the edge of the picture "- is unknown. We don't know who it is. And there's also this." He pulled out a laptop, and opened it. "It was recorded a few minutes after the picture was taken." He hit some keys on the laptop.

A screeching sound echoed in the hangar, until it was suddenly cut off.

"We compared it to the signal recorded in Qatar," Morshower said, eyeing Lennox. "There are similarities, but it's like comparing Bell's telephone to a new-generation smart phone. It is undoubtedly Cybertronian, though."

"Yes, it is," Optimus nodded, frowning angrily. "And I recognize it. It's Quintessa."

"Quintessa?" Bumblebee stared at him. "But – but I ended her. She's dust."

"So we thought," Optimus grunted. "But she's an incredibly advanced being. She must have survived somehow. For all we know, what we saw of her wasn't even her true form."

"If Quintessa's still around, we're in all manners of trouble," Morshower muttered. He looked up at Lennox. "I assume the staff is safe?"

"Safe, in a secret location," Lennox confirmed.

"Good. We don't want to shave any more years off the Earth's life."

"But what would be her goal now? To finish the job?" Bumblebee asked. "Cybertron is in stasis, already healing."

"Yes, but not healed," Optimus rumbled. "She could accelerate the process, if she had access to her staff. That would most likely mean the death of the Earth and of the human race."

"Then we must keep it out of her hands," Morshower nodded. "That said, it would surprise me if there wasn't some connection there, between Quintessa and the attacks you've suffered recently."

"That makes sense," the Autobot leader agreed. "She doesn't care about the Decepticons either, she sees them as a means to an end. She would sacrifice them willingly, if it achieved her goal."

"But what can she gain from attacking us like this?" Lennox mused. "As it is, we're no threat to her. We don't even know where she is. Heck, we thought she was dead."

"Let's see." Morshower began counting off on his fingers. "First, you have the Prime. Second, you have the Autobot who actually killed her. Almost. And then, you have the last knight of Iacon, even though he's human. And you have the descendant of Merlin, the only one who can wield the staff. And you actually have the staff." He looked around at them. "To be honest, you're the only ones it makes sense that she would attack."

Lennox ran a hand through his hair. "So what do we do?"

"You stay here," Morshower said firmly. "The defenses here are already established, and you're nowhere near where Quintessa has found you before. You keep out of radio contact unless strictly necessary. I will intensify the drone scans around the planet, try to pick up new traces of her."

Optimus nodded. "It sounds like a wise plan."

"What of the civilians?" Lennox asked.

"The last knight of Iacon and the descendant of Merlin are hardly regular civilians," Morshower grunted.

"I know. But what of Izabella? And Mattie and Jack?"

Morshower frowned at him. "I don't know those last two. Do they know everything?"

Bumblebee shook his head. "Mattie knows everything. Jack doesn't know much, but he wants to stay."

"I think they'll need to stay for now," Morshower sighed. He eyed Lennox. "Please try to stop bringing more of them in. Civilians complicate things."

Lennox grinned. "It's not me, sir, it's Cade. Mattie was the one Bee and the others pulled out of the rubble six months back, the one Cade invited to stay. Jack is her brother. They were both on the Burton estate when Thundercracker attacked."

Morshower shook his head. "I'll leave the decision up to you, Lennox. You know them." He looked at his watch. "Gentlemen, I have to be in Tokyo. If we're done?"

Optimus nodded. "Thank you for your time, general."

"You too, Prime. You too. I'll send someone when I have news." With that, he left the hangar.

Lennox looked up at Bumblebee. "Don't worry, Bee. Mattie's not going anywhere." Then he followed the general out the door.


	28. Chapter 28

The days at Diego Garcia started pretty good. Bumblebee was gone most of the day, as Lennox had warned her about, but Mattie waited for him at the hangar when he came back each night, so they had some time together. She was happy to find that there was an indoor pool in one of the buildings set aside for the soldiers, and she was welcome to use it. She'd even spent a whole day exploring the island with Charger, who was getting so big that she'd soon have to use a ladder to get on him.

All in all, the days would have been pleasant enough. If it hadn't been for Quinn.

Mattie was pretty sure he wasn't following her around – at least, she thought not. But she kept running into him everywhere she was going, and he never let her pass without a snide comment or leer. The comments got worse and worse, and after the third day, she sought refuge in Cade's workshop all day (really hangar four, but it was Cade's workshop for all intents and purposes) except for her morning swim. That, she pushed to early enough in the morning that the sun was barely up, and the soldiers certainly weren't.

So now, she spent her days talking with the Autobots in recovery, reading, and listening to the playful banter going between the hangar's residents. Drift was still without function in his left arm, though Cade said he would have that sorted soon, and Hot Rod was missing an optic and couldn't unclench his right hand. Hound was off his feet, as neither ped worked as it should after Skywarp had messed them up. Add to that the invalids that had been brought from the Burton estate, and the workshop was really quite crowded.

She was finishing up a game of chess with Drift when Cade came over and stood next to her, arms crossed. Games with Drift took forever, because of his methodic playing style – they'd been going on this one since she arrived that morning.

"Check," Drift said, looking down on the board.

Mattie looked at her pieces. "And mate in another three moves," she nodded. "I admit defeat." She looked up at Cade. "Can I help you with something?"

"You can tell me why you're hanging around here instead of roaming around outside," Cade replied. "This is the fourth day you've been in here all day. Now, I know for a fact that there are lots of other things you can do, and both Viv and Izzy have tried to get you to join them, but you say no. Why is that?"

Mattie looked up at Drift. "Please excuse us." She rose and, grabbing hold of Cade's sleeve, pulled him along to the far corner of the workshop.

"So? Spill." Cade looked at her.

Mattie sighed. "It's Quinn. Whenever I see him, he's – rude." _Understatement of the year._

Cade frowned. "Rude how?"

Mattie sat down on a crate. "Just – rude. He calls me things. He leers at me."

Cade sat down next to her. "Tell him to back off."

Mattie snorted. "Like I haven't tried that. Not that politely, either."

"What does he say?"

"Mean things. Calls me a glitch, or a freak. Bumblebee's little plaything. Motor whore, or alien lover. That it's a good thing Bee and I can't breed, because I shouldn't. That I should swim in the ocean instead of the pool, because then I might drown. That no one would miss me much if I did, since I'm so obviously a dead end." Despite her best efforts, she could feel the tears pushing behind her eyelids.

Cade stared at her. "Mattie, that's not rude. That's horrible. Have you told Bee?"

Mattie chuckled mirthlessly. "Yeah, because that would help. Then Quinn would be so much mess on the tarmac, and Bee would be in a lot of trouble."

"But you can't let him do this to you, Mattie," Cade insisted. "You have to tell someone. He's not going to stop unless you do."

Mattie silently shook her head.

Cade heaved an exasperated sigh. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "He'll get bored and give up eventually. I don't want to cause problems."

Cade just shook his head at her.

* * *

In the end, though, she didn't really need to tell anyone. When she left the workshop that night to go back to Bumblebee, Quinn was waiting outside the hangar.

"Hey, freak," he sneered. "Headed back to your master?"

"Leave me alone, Quinn," Mattie replied quietly. "Go away."

"But you haven't understood yet," he complained, falling into step next to her. "I can't stop explaining until you understand. You do realize they only tolerate you, don't you? You're not of any practical use to them."

Mattie shook her head. "Just – just shut up." She knew he was wrong, but it was too scarily easy to believe those words.

He grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around, so she was facing him. "You're a joke," he said, enunciating each word carefully. "You shouldn't be here. In fact, you should have died when Cybertron flattened your building."

"QUINN!"

He dropped her shoulder as if he'd been burned, and turned towards where the voice was coming from. Lieutenant Hadley was walking towards them, a furious expression on his face. When he got to them, he lifted his hand and pointed a finger straight in Quinn's face. "Report. To the brig. Now," he growled.

"Sir." Quinn snapped a salute, and turned on his heel. Soon he had disappeared into the rain and shadows.

Hadley looked at her. "I heard that. How long had this been going on?"

Mattie looked down. "Since we got here," she murmured. "I kept hoping he would get bored of it and leave me alone."

"Instead, it's gotten worse, hasn't it?" Hadley asked. "He's not letting up, he's become a bigger asshole."

Mattie just nodded.

Hadley sighed. "It's just so – so Quinn. He can be such an utter dickhead. I'm so sorry about this, Mattie. Ryan!"

The lanky, blond soldier swerved in his path and walked over to them. "Sir?"

"Follow Quinn, see he goes to the brig," Hadley said. Ryan saluted sharply, and turned in the direction Hadley pointed.

Hadley looked at Mattie again. "Hopefully, a few days in there will straighten him out, if not we'll have to think of something else. I'd hate to lose him, he's a good soldier."

"I don't want to cause any trouble," Mattie said.

The lieutenant shot her a small smile. "You didn't, honey. He did. And now he'll pay for that. You're going to hangar one, aren't you? Come on, I'll walk you there."

* * *

"So what did Quinn actually say to you?" Ryan asked.

"A lot of venom and bile, nothing worth repeating," Mattie said. "Here, hand me that tuning fork."

Being stuck on base doing nothing while her mate was working constantly was a lot less tedious when there was someone else around who was as keenly into music as her. Granted, Ryan's tastes ran more to country/western and such than her own did, but that didn't matter. He was fun to hang out with.

"Ah don't know what's gotten into him," Ryan frowned, bending low over his own Grace. His long, ashen-blonde fringe hung into his eyes, and he shook his head irritably. "Ah mean, he can be a moron, but he's never been cruel. Ah've been stationed with him for two years now."

Mattie looked up from Johnnie's tuning pegs and grinned. _There was something in that tone._ "You like him, don't you?"

Ryan flashed her a look, and grinned. "Ah think he's hot."

Mattie considered that for a moment. "Yeah, you're not wrong." She smirked. "Though totally not my type."

"Nah, you landed yourself an Autobot, regular guys are beneath you now," Ryan chuckled. Unlike if Quinn had said something similar, there was no malice in Ryan's statement. "Speakin' of which, where is he tonight?"

Mattie shrugged. "I have no idea." She looked around, checking who else was hanging around in the workshop. "Izzy's here and not Jack, and since he's not with me that means he's with Prime. That means Prime isn't in a strategic meeting or some such, which means that Bee's probably – "

"- trainin' with Heimling's squad," Ryan nodded. "Ah think you're right. Borrow the tunin' fork?"

Mattie handed it to him. "Hey Ryan, what does T. stand for?"

He looked up at her, his fringe in his eyes again. "Huh?"

"T." She pointed at his uniform tag, where 'T. Ryan' was marked in large letters.

"Oh." He smiled and reddened slightly, but still met her eyes. "Thaddeus. Thaddeus John Ryan. Ah'm named for my great-grandfathers. Ah've told my parents off for that more times than Ah can count."

Mattie grinned and stretched out her hand. "Marie-Thérèse Saint-Édain. Named for the chick in West Side Story and the saint of the local pond. Nice to meet you."

"You too." He grinned. "An' if you ever call me Thaddeus Ah'll cheerfully strangle you with a steel guitar string."

"Noted."

"Playing without me?"

Mattie turned, looking up at Bumblebee. He was dripping wet, and looked a bit like a kicked puppy. "Aw Bee, you're adorable when you're pouting," she grinned. "You wouldn't want to record this anyway, we're just working on the tuning."

Bee sat down next to her, and she leaned up against him gratefully _. I don't even care if he's wet, I'm staying right here._ She twisted slightly and placed a kiss on his chest armor.

"Have you been here all day today too?" Bee asked, nuzzling at her hair.

Mattie shook her head, grinning. "Nope. Quinn's in the brig for another day, so I got a welcome respite." It seemed like once Quinn had been thrown in the brig, everyone discovered why, so there had been no keeping it from Bumblebee. Thankfully, he hadn't gone completely mad. Only slightly.

"Ah'll talk to him," Ryan said, frowning. "He has to stop this."

"I still don't know why you didn't tell me," Bumblebee grunted.

Mattie put Johnnie down and snuck into his lap, and he put his arms around her carefully. "Because you would have made a ruckus," she said, leaning into his chest. "And I didn't want that."

"Ruckus," Bee repeated, looking down at her. "Ryan's rubbing off on you."

"Then Ah'm doin' some good," the blond soldier grinned. "Ah'm gonna pack up now, Mattie. See you around?"

"Definitely," she nodded. "Thanks for hanging with me."

"Anytime you like," he grinned. "You're fun. Bye, Bee."

The Autobot lifted one hand and waved at him, not taking his eyes off Mattie. Ryan chuckled as he walked away.

"I missed you," Mattie whispered, lifting a hand to stroke the sensitive wiring in Bee's neck. "Are you going to be this busy all the time?"

"I don't know," he sighed, leaning down and kissing her head. "So I've come to steal you. With Hound and Hot Rod still stuck here, and Drift and Crosshairs running night-ops with Anderson's squad, I've got the hangar to myself all night."

Mattie looked up at him, thrilled at his words. "I get to stay with you tonight?"

"If you want to," he nodded, grinning at the look on her face. Then he leaned in. "To be honest, I already fetched your things."

Mattie giggled. "Perfect."


	29. Thaddeus and Jared, and the power of 'please'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the first of two chapters I've tentatively dubbed intermission chapters. Mainly because they weren't really driven by Mattie - more like some of my favorite by-characters wanted a chance to shine :) This may well be one of my favorite chapters, so I hope you like!  
> This is also the chapter that made me feel like I had to bump up the rating... Last bit is somewhat NSFW.  
> And oh, if some of you dislike same-sex romance - I'd warn you, but I really just think you should get with the times already.

 

* * *

The evening Quinn was let out of the brig again, Ryan found him standing behind Hangar 3, smoking and trying to kick a piece of turf to within an inch of its life. For a while, Ryan just stood there, looking at the other soldier.

"What do you want, Ryan?" Quinn grumbled.

"Ah came to see if you were okay," Ryan replied.

Quinn stopped kicking and looked at him. "Heh. That's rich, coming to see if I'm okay. Shouldn't you be more worried about your bot-loving friend?"

He shook his head. "I've talked to Mattie. She's got people around her, she's fine. You're alone."

The kicking resumed. Suddenly the turf clot broke off and flew into the dark.

Quinn drew a deep, shaky breath. "Go back, Ryan. I don't need your help."

"No."

"No?" Quinn sneered. "Go the hell back, idiot."

Ryan shook his head. "No. Somethin's up with you, and Ah want to know what."

Quinn snorted. "Like you care."

"Ah know this ain't you. You can be a bit of a dickhead, but you've never been cruel before. And Mattie's done nothin' to you."

Quinn walked up to the hangar and slumped down on the ground with his back to the wall. He pulled deeply on his cigarette. "Yeah, well, life's a bitch."

Ryan walked over and sat down next to him. "What's botherin' you?"

Quinn grinned, shaking his head. _Are those… tears?_

"Jared… Please. You're not yourself."

"This is the US Army. There's no room for being oneself here." He grinned that desperate grin again, eyes still shining with tears.

Ryan looked at him. "Sure there is. As long as you're not being an utter dick. You know, Hadley started talkin' of disciplinary action against you?"

Quinn buried his head in his hands.

Ryan leaned back and sighed. "You need to back off Mattie, Jared."

"Thanks for the advice, Thaddeus," Quinn spat. Ryan flinched.

Suddenly, Quinn stood up again and started pacing. He walked aggressively, ran his hands through his hair. _He's on a breaking point_ , Ryan realized. _This is serious._

"My family's career military, you know that?" Quinn suddenly said. "Yeah, my father, my father's father, all the way back to whenever. I grew up on an army base."

"Ah know," Ryan said cautiously, careful not to push him closer to whatever pit he was balancing on the edge of.

"Apparently," Quinn continued, "the army is the only job that matters, and the only way to be a real man is to be a soldier. If you're not a soldier, you're not a worthy human being." He stopped and chuckled quietly. "I have a cousin who's a plumber. We stopped asking him over for Christmas when he dropped out of military academy."

"Well, all due respect to your family, I'm sure they're nice folk and you should be proud of them and what they've done for our country. But that's bullshit," Ryan said. He stood up and walked over to Quinn. "The army isn't everythin'."

"It is to us," Quinn whispered. "And I like being a soldier, I do. I even like working with the Autobots. Or I did, until she showed up."

"Mattie," Ryan said.

Quinn nodded. "Yeah. You know what really ticks me off about her?" He started pacing again, ranting. "There she is, a soft, little civilian, suddenly just a part of the group. And that's okay. It's fine, even. But now she's in love with an alien? And he loves her back. And everyone's okay with it! How in the hell is it okay for her to do that when I can't – I can't…"

"You can't what?" Ryan asked.

Quinn stopped and turned towards him. In the dusky rain, his face was almost all shadow, but the light from the lamppost on the wall reflected in his eyes and the tears on his cheeks.

"When I can't be in love with you," he whispered.

Ryan stared at him. _What? So that's… What?!_ "But you can," he sputtered, still reeling slightly. "The DADT was repelled back in 2010. That's seven years ago."

Quinn chuckled sadly. "As if that matters in my family." He turned away from Ryan, dejected.

Ryan walked up to him slowly. Gently, he laid his fingers on the other man's shoulder. Quinn tensed.

"Hey," Ryan said softly. "Why didn't you just tell me?" His other hand came up, started stroking Quinn's neck. Quinn shook his head, still looking away.

Ryan stepped closer. Slowly, carefully, he moved around to stand in front of him. He let one hand run down Quinn's arm until he found his hand. With his other hand, he cupped Quinn's cheek. "Jared."

Quinn was biting his lip, looking everywhere but at Ryan. He lifted his hand and scrubbed at his eyes angrily.

Ryan ducked his head, trying to catch the other man's gaze. "Look at me, Jared. You can." He lifted his other hand to cradle Quinn's face between his hands. "You can."

The other man finally looked at him. Ryan waited until he had Quinn's full attention. Then he leaned in, ever so slowly, and gently touched his lips to Quinn's.

After a moment, he pulled back. Quinn stared at him with wide eyes. Then he hungrily pressed his mouth against Ryan's again. His hands came up, and he grabbed hold of Ryan's t-shirt, pulling him closer.

"I can?" he said breathlessly in between kisses. "You mean that?"

"Ah do mean that," Ryan murmured, kissing him back. "Ah can't believe you didn't just tell me. You could've spared yourself a whole lot of misery."

"I was scared," Jared whispered, leaning his forehead against Ryan's. "You don't know how it is, you've always been who you are and you're accepted for that. And I couldn't see why you would want – me."

Ryan grinned and slid his arms around the other soldier. "Ah happen to like you quite a lot when you're not bein' a dickhead."

"I'll try to tone that down then," Quinn chuckled.

"Not too much, though, okay?" Ryan murmured, leaning in to kiss him again. "You're pretty damn good as you are."

Quinn grinned, letting his arms sneak around Ryan's neck. "Just keep reminding me."

* * *

"Mattie?"

 _Oh no ,I know that voice._ She looked up warily. Quinn and Ryan were standing at the door to the building where she and the other civilians slept.

 _Wait a minute. Are they – holding hands?_ She looked again. They were. Ryan was grinning at her, looking positively ecstatic. Noticing her look, he stepped a little closer to Quinn.

"Mattie?" Quinn said again. "Is it okay if I talk to you for a moment?"

"Um. Sure," she said, standing. "Let's go outside, okay?" _He can't really tear into my hide with Ryan there, Ryan would pummel him. Even with the hand-holding._

She followed the two soldiers out into the light rain. As soon as they were outside, Quinn turned and took a deep breath.

"Mattie, I owe you an apology. No, I owe you more than that. The way I've treated you this past week…" he shook his head. "There's no excuse. I'm so, so sorry." He looked at her. "I don't expect you to forgive me, not just like that. Just – just know I'll never do anything like that again."

"Um." Mattie stared at him, then at Ryan, then back at Quinn. "You're right, I can't forgive you just like that. You were very cruel to me. And you ripped up some really old wounds." She held up a hand to stave off the protest she could see forming on Ryan's lips. "That doesn't mean I won't, though, in time. But you're going to have to earn it."

Quinn grinned at her, a boyish, relieved smile that lit up his entire face. _And there's what's ensnared Ryan, I bet._ "I'll prove it," he nodded eagerly. "I'll be your slave for life, if that's what it takes."

Mattie giggled and shook her head, partly at Quinn, and partly at the jealous look that flashed across Ryan's face. "That won't be needed. Just – be nice, okay? Be nice."

"Believe it or not, I can do that," Quinn nodded, grinning. "I just haven't shown you."

"Then do," Mattie said, reaching out her hand. "Start over. Hi, I'm Mattie Eden. My boyfriend's an Autobot."

"Hi, Mattie," Quinn laughed, shaking her hand. "I'm Jared Quinn. My boyfriend's a gun-wielding guitar playing son of the south."

Ryan snorted. "You're makin' me sound like a madman."

"Well, aren't you?" Quinn said, looking at Ryan through long eyelashes. His voice was suddenly low and husky. Ryan stared at him, then groaned and pulled him close, kissing him hungrily.

"Okay!" Mattie said, laughing. "That's my cue to leave! I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Neither one of them noticed that she went back inside.

* * *

Of course, it wasn't quite that simple. Mattie looked up from her seat on the beach, meeting the optics of a furious Bumblebee.

"He just apologized? Just like that." He snarled. "Like that's enough."

"Easy, Bee," Mattie replied, trying to soothe him. She crawled up on his lap and kissed his chest. "Listen. In this world, that's what people do. They act like idiots, they feel bad, they apologize."

"Act like an idiot doesn't cover it, not by a long shot," Bee grumbled. He put his arms around her and pulled her close. "He _hurt_ you."

"Yes. But as you know, I've had worse. I've lived worse, and I've gotten past worse." She climbed up on his chest, placing her hands on his face. "This thing with Quinn? This is nothing. It's an echo, it's vapor. And if I can get past it, so can you."

She leaned in and kissed him softly. Or at least that was the plan, until Bee pulled her so close to him that she worried for her physical health.

"You have no idea how awful it feels to see you hurt," he mumbled. "I could have ripped Quinn's head off."

"I know," Mattie grinned. "That's why I didn't tell you."

"And you just forgive him? He's sorry, so that's it?"

Mattie shook her head. "Not by a long shot. He doesn't get anything for free. But I owe it to Ryan to at least give him a chance. Ryan will keep him in check, anyway."

Bumblebee nuzzled at her hair. "What does Ryan have to do with it?"

Mattie giggled. "Everything. Apparently, all Quinn really needed was a bit of Ryan. And besides, Ryan's told him to be nice, or he's breaking up with him."

Bumblebee grinned. "Is that how it is?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too," Mattie said, smiling. "Out of the blue." She leaned in and kissed him again. "Quinn's asked us to a bonfire party tomorrow night. Complete with music and marshmallows, he says. Cade and Viviane are going too. Will you behave?" She crept down on his chest again, letting her fingers run under his chest armor. "Please?"

"No fair," he groaned, opening the armor. "You're fighting dirty."

Mattie laughed quietly, and leaned down to kiss his most sensitive bits. "Pretty please?" She let her tongue run along the hot metal.

Bee groaned, arching his back. "Bonfire. Yeah. Cool." He looked down at her. "Please don't stop?"

Mattie grinned. "See? Please always works." She let her tongue run over the metal again.

He grunted. "Only because I love you." Suddenly he grapped her, and turned around so she was lying on the ground with him towering over her. "You little minx."

"Ooh, good earth reference," she grinned.

Bumblebee chuckled and teased her shirt up. "I aim to surprise." He leaned down abruptly and kissed her stomach, working his way up towards her chest.

Mattie gasped. "Holy – !"

"Please will you let Quinn suffer a bit?" Bee grinned wickedly, slowly tugging her pants down. "Pretty please?"

Mattie squirmed under his warm digits. "You'd better not start anything you can't finish," she warned. The effect of the threat was thoroughly ruined by her being breathless.

Bee just laughed, a low, deep sound in his chest that had Mattie squirming. "No promises." His digit gently teased her legs apart, while his mouth came back on her breast.

Mattie arched her back and moaned. "Please? Pretty, pretty please?"

One digit gently started probing at her most sensitive spot. "Pretty please what?" he said, in the same low, purring tone.

Mattie quivered and tensed against him. "Pretty please, Bee," she groaned. "You're killing me here."

"Promise to let him suffer?" Bee said, moving back from her breast and down to her stomach.

She nodded desperately. "Yeah fine, fine, whatever you say, just please -!"

He grinned against her stomach. "That's my girl." Then his mouth moved further down her stomach, until it rested against the top of her pubic bone. Mattie arched her back and moaned as her legs were pushed a little further apart and his digit was removed.

"Please…"

"Not done yet, love."

Suddenly, Bee's mouth was between her legs. Mattie squealed and pushed her hips against him. "You – crazy Autobot!" she grunted.

Bee chuckled, still in that low purr. "Driving you insane, am I? Good. I'm having fun."

Mattie pummeled her helm with her fists. "Please! Oh my God!"

Suddenly Bee growled, pushing against her. She tensed and pushed back, as his mouth eagerly moved on her. She arched her back, fists burrowing into the ground, moaning loudly, screaming his name, as wave after wave of pleasure washed through her body.

As she relaxed and lay panting, Bumblebee lifted his head, looking at her. She lifted one hand to his cheek weakly.

"Please do that again sometime?" she whispered. "Pretty please?"

Bumblebee just grinned.


	30. Dirty song sing-off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the second intermission chapter. Main story continues in the next one.

The fire was burning low, and Cade threw another log in. Since Izzy and Jack had lessons with Prime, it was just the three civilians, Quinn and Ryan, and Bee, Drift, and Crosshairs sitting there. Mattie kind of liked that the kids were gone for the night – it felt like sitting with friends, a casual, relaxed setting. Even if three of them were giant metal aliens.

"Okay, okay," Quinn grinned, interrupting the playful banter. He looked around until he had everyone's attention. "New sing-off."

There was a chorus of groaning and laughter around the campfire.

"Again?" Viviane giggled. "Haven't we had about five of those tonight?"

"Yup," Ryan smirked. "And I'm in the lead."

"Only by one," Mattie protested. "I won 'most obscure' and 'funniest'."

"You did," Ryan acknowledged. "And I'm willin' to gracefully offer you another chance at losing. I mean, catching up."

Mattie laughed. "So what's the theme this time?"

Quinn grinned mischievously, looking from one to the other. "Dirty lyrics."

Viviane snorted. "Of course. That's so you, Quinn."

"It's the last one for the night, I promise," Quinn said, raising his hands in defense.

"No, it can't be," Mattie protested. "Did you forget, I have a classical music education? Dirty songs weren't part of the curriculum!"

"That's probably 'cause you weren't goin' to the frat parties," Ryan smirked. Then he grinned at her. "Ladies first."

Mattie sighed and shook her head, grinning. "I just know one, I think. And it barely even qualifies. But okay."

"Wait," Drift said. "What exactly is a 'dirty' song?"

Cade snorted. "Really? Google it, pal. Just – google it."

"Can't," Drift muttered. "Static wall."

"Well, wait and see then," Cade said. "You'll find out in a moment."

Mattie grinned, and struck the first chord. "Boom, boom, boom," she started slowly, grinning. "Boom, boom, boom. And that's how we set sail." Then she picked up the pace.

"First we set sail for the Canaries, with a cargo of 47 fairies. We lay around the bunks with those 47 punks, till all our teeth sprouted caries. Boom, boom, boom – boom, boom, boom – and that's how we set sail!"

The others grinned and nodded along while she sang the verses, and a few of them joined in the refrain. _Oh well. Not that dirty, but at least they're grinning at the right places._

"Then we set sail for the Hawaiians, with a cargo of forty-seven lions. By the time that we were done, we had buggered everyone, and the offspring were a miracle to science! Boom, boom, boom – boom, boom, boom, and that's how we set sail!"

When she finished, Ryan nodded at her. "Ah'll judge that… a qualified attempt. My turn." He picked up Grace. "Now, you know this one, Mattie, you just forgot. So Ah need you to help me, 'kay? It finishes a bit high for my tastes."

"Um. Okay?"

Ryan struck a chord. "Soh. Doh. My…." he began, letting the final vowel stretch out.

Mattie facepalmed. "Oh no, I do know this one! I concede victory."

"Fellatio," Ryan continued, looking at her.

"Cunnilingus," Mattie sang. "Pederasty… Father! Why do these words sound so nasty?"

"Masturbation," Ryan sang.

"Can be fun," Mattie agreed, playing a bit with the final note. "Join the holy orgy Kama Sutra – every o – o – o – ne!"

Ryan and Quinn cheered, and the other humans laughed. "That was a winner!" Cade announced.

"I don't understand it," Drift said.

"Nor I," said Crosshairs.

Bumblebee just grinned.

Quinn stared at them with disbelief. "Seriously? Okay. Pop quiz! Definitions. As Mattie sings the song again, we will explain the definitions of what she's singing. Two points per definition! Go!"

Mattie grinned, then started again, a bit slower. "Sodomy…"

"Man on man action," Ryan smirked. "Or back door action, if you're a woman."

"Points!" Quinn called.

"Fellatio…"

"Mouth on man action!" Viviane grinned.

"Points!"

"Cunnilingus…"

"Mouth on woman action." Cade leered at Viviane, who blushed slightly.

"Points!"

"Pederasty…"

There was a moment of quiet. Quinn looked around. "Seriously? Come on. Grown man on younger man action. With an educational aspect. Points!"

"Should've figured you would know that one," Ryan murmured, shooting him a sly glance. Quinn just grinned.

"Father!" Mattie sang. "Why do these words sound so nasty?"

"Father means the priest, or God," Viviane said. "These things were considered sinful, once."

"Masturbation…"

"The act of pleasing oneself," Ryan said.

"You would know, huh?" Quinn grinned. "Points!"

"Can be fun," Mattie sang. "Join the holy orgy Kama Sutra, everyone…"

"An orgy is a group sexual activity," Cade said.

"And the Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian text depicting different sexual positions," Viviane added.

"Points and points!" Quinn said. "Tally! Four for Ryan, two for my esteemed self. Six for Viviane, I'm being nice here and giving you for explaining about the nasty. And four for Cade. That makes Viviane the grand prize winner!" He rose up extravagantly, and leaned over to give her a peck on the cheek.

Cade laughed. "What would you have done, had I won?"

Quinn grinned saucily at him. "What are you saying, old man, not up for a bit of pederasty?"

Cade flushed red and chuckled.

Quinn turned and threw his hands out. "Autobots! I say to ye, have ye been enlightened?"

Mattie laughed. _He's like a circus master or something. I can see what Ryan loves about him now._

Crosshairs just stared at him. "You humans seriously make nasty songs about your biological rituals?"

"Oh, we do," Quinn winked at him. "We're humans. The biological drive is the third strongest we have, beaten only by thirst and hunger."

"And this is just an example," Cade said. "I've actually heard much, much worse."

"So have I," Viviane nodded. "This one wasn't even graphic. Frat parties, remember?" she said in response to Cade's look.

Drift frowned. "Thank Primus for that. I don't need to know more than necessary about your reproduction."

Crosshairs stood. "It's late. Fun as this has been, I'll go recharge now. I'll see you all."

He walked away, and Drift followed him.

Quinn turned and threw out his arms dramatically. "Some people just do not appreciate a proper education." He walked over and sat down in front of Ryan, leaning up against his knee.

Bumblebee scooted closer to Mattie, and leaned down until he was next to her ear. "So. Cunnilingus, huh?" he breathed. Mattie blushed beet-red all the way to her hairline. Hurriedly, she bent down and put Johnnie away, hiding behind her hair all the while.

Luckily, no one saw. Cade had pulled Viviane up next to him, and was nuzzling at her ear; Viviane smiled, but she was starting to look really sleepy. And Quinn had his eyes closed and his head leant up against Ryan's leg, while Ryan was quietly playing 'Welcome to my world' in a way that would have had Elvis nodding his approval.

 _This is a perfect moment,_ Mattie realized. _This, right here. This is what it's all about._

She turned to Bumblebee and kissed his faceplate. "I love you all the way to Cybertron and back," she whispered.

"And I love you more than everything," he replied, picking her up and cradling her close. "Absolutely everything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs for this chapter: "We set sail", as recorded by Oscar Brand, and "Sodomy" from Hair (the musical).


	31. Chapter 31

Lennox followed general Morshower into the hangar with the table on the raised dais. As last time, Optimus and Bumblebee were already there, waiting.

"Prime, Bumblebee," the general greeted them.

"General," Optimus acknowledged. Bee just nodded at him.

"Let's dispense of the pleasantries," Morshower said. He pulled a bunch of pictures out of his briefcase. "We've lost another team working on the horns."

Optimus leaned in, looking at the pictures. "Quintessa again?"

Morshower nodded. "We think so. We picked up the same sound signal as last time. Same MO, too. That's to say, no MO at all. They're simply gone."

Lennox looked at the general. "Any trace of her?"

"None. We've run continuous scans around the globe, at least as much as we could without instigating anything. We can't find her." Morshower frowned. "I do not like this."

"And I don't get it," Lennox agreed. "It's been quiet. No fighting, no intruders, no nothing. We've practically had a holiday here. The soldiers have all healed up and rested, Drift and Hot Rod are back in action, and Cade's even got Scattorshot back to a semi-functional state. If the goal is to get at us, it makes no sense to let us catch our breath like this, not when she's pummeled us all summer."

"Maybe she's simply lost track of us," Bumblebee said hopefully.

Morshower shook his head. "One can always hope. But I think there's something here we don't see."

"I agree," Optimus rumbled.

Lennox pushed at the pictures on the table. _We're missing something here. But what the hell is it?_ One hand hovered near a picture of the horn in the desert, where the first team had gone missing. He looked from that to the picture of Cybertron in stasis, taken by a deep-space probe, to a picture of Earth seen from space. Then, it clicked in his head. "What if we're looking at it wrong? We're looking at it backwards." He pulled those three pictures up, placed them next to each other. "What if she's not aiming to heal Cybertron?"

Optimus looked at him, bright-blue optics shining high over his head. "What are you thinking?"

Lennox pointed at the pictures. "We've been thinking that she wanted the staff, to heal Cybertron. That's what she said was her goal when she took you, and when we fought her last year." He waited for the other three to nod. "What if her goal isn't actually Cybertron, but Cybertron was simply a means to an end?"

Bumblebee stared at him. "She's not after healing Cybertron."

Lennox shook his head grimly. "No. She's after killing Unicron."

Stunned silence greeted his words.

"That's why she's taking down the teams at the horns," Bumblebee breathed.

Morshower looked up at Optimus. "Will she still need the staff? Or are there other ways to kill him?"

"I don't know," Optimus replied gravely. "It's not a field I've studied."

"Talk to Viviane," Bumblebee said. "The archives will have the information we need."

"That's a good idea," Morshower agreed. "Can she access them from here?"

"Some," Optimus nodded. "But not all. A lot of the physical volumes are still at the Burton estate, along with a lot of the relics in the Order's possession."

"We can't send the descendant of Merlin back there," the general sighed. "Too risky. Ask her to look through the resources she has here first. Then we'll see. We may have to fly her off the island, or send someone else back to the estate."

"Send Cogman," Lennox suggested. "He's been stewing here anyway, he's not happy."

"That's true," Optimus agreed. "He would leap at the chance."

"Done," the general said. "Let Viviane check first. If she finds nothing, we're sending him to England."

"There's someone else we need to discuss, too," Lennox said. "Mattie and Jack. Mostly Jack, actually. And their parents."

Morshower just looked at him.

"Jack's just fourteen, but he's a genius," Lennox explained. "He was supposed to start an advanced math course at Oxford University next week."

"Impressive," the general said. "I don't know how safe it is to let him go, though."

Lennox looked at him. "Is it that much safer to let him stay?"

"He was supposed to stay with Viviane," Bumblebee chimed in. "With her here, he has nowhere to go even if he does go to England."

"He can go back to his parents," Lennox argued.

"Mattie used to talk to her parents every other day or so," Optimus said. "Now they haven't spoken for over two weeks. They must be getting worried."

"Especially since we have the kid, too," Lennox nodded. "We need to reassure them somehow, he's still under their guardianship. We don't want to be accused of kidnapping."

"Well, calling's out of the question," Morshower said, frowning. "But you're right, we need to handle it somehow. I have a solution in mind, I'll let you know how it pans out. For now, we'll keep doing what we've been doing, okay? I'll see you, gentlemen." He gathered up his document file and left, closing the door behind him.

Lennox looked up at Bumblebee. _Now for the difficult part._

"Bee."

"Yeah?" The yellow Autobot looked down at him warily.

"We need to decide if we're telling Mattie about Quintessa."

Bee flinched. "Why would she need to know?"

Optimus sighed. "I'm afraid Lennox is right. She's your mate, Bumblebee, she'll always be where you are. It seems fair to let her know what she's entering into."

Bumblebee hesitated, looking from one to the other. "I don't want to expose her to the evil in our species."

"She's already seen the evil in our species, Bumblebee," Optimus rumbled. "The Decepticons have made sure of that."

"But she'll be in danger," Bumblebee protested feebly.

"Bee, she lives on a military base," Lennox countered. "She's been exposed to fighting three times in the last six months, four if you count how you found her. The only thing that will change is that she will know what's going on."

Optimus looked at him. "What about Jack?"

Lennox sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I'd like nothing better than to send Jack home. If Morshower'd let me, that kid would be out of here on the next plane."

"He would never stand for that," Bee said. "He wants to be here."

"Well, that's not up to him," Lennox said firmly. "He's still a kid."

"He's the same age as Izabella, more or less," Bee said. "Do you want to send her away too?" There was a touch of bitterness to his voice.

"Izabella doesn't have anywhere else to go," Lennox said. "Cade's pretty much adopted her. I can't send her away from her family. I can send Jack home to his."

"And Izzy's useful, too," Bee said.

Lennox shot him a look. "Yes. But if she had family elsewhere, I would still send her away."

"Jack's got a good mind," Optimus said. "He could be of help as much as Izabella is."

"He's fourteen, Optimus," Lennox almost shouted. "He's a goddamn kid! And he's stuck out here in a war zone! Heck, we could have an attack here tomorrow, it's not like the 'Cons don't know where this base is! Do you want to be the one responsible for putting him in danger? For him dying, even?" He pointed a finger at the Autobot leader. "Do you want to be the one to tell his family that their son is dead, simply because we didn't let him go when we had the chance? Because I sure as hell don't."

Optimus frowned. "Of course not."

"I know he seems more mature than he is, because he's so smart," Lennox sighed. "All the more reason to shelter him until he's older."

"So we're not telling him about Quintessa, then?" Bumblebee asked carefully.

Lennox shook his head firmly. "Not him. Just Mattie." He looked up at Bee. "Do you want to do it? Or should I?"

Bee sighed heavily. "I'll talk to her. Even though I don't like it. It feels like I'm putting her in danger."

"We're all in danger," Lennox replied quietly. "Sometimes, knowing about it makes you safer."

* * *

Mattie broke the surface and took a deep breath, before diving under and turning against the side of the pool, losing herself in the rhythm of her body again. With strong, even strokes she propelled herself back the way she had come, without breaking the surface.

When she came back to the edge of the pool, she relaxed, letting her body float gently in the water. Viviane swam up next to her.

"Is that my time?" Mattie said excitedly, pointing at the screen.

Viviane grinned. "It's certainly not mine."

"But that's a new personal best!" Mattie squealed. "I've never been that fast submerged before!"

"Well then, congratulations," Viviane said, smiling. "Army base life is good for you."

"Life in general is good for me right now," Mattie grinned, turning and laying her head against the edge of the pool.

"Bumblebee behaving?" the older woman asked, a slight smirk on her face.

"Bee's the best." Mattie could feel her cheeks heating slightly, but she smiled.

"Well, I'm glad it's working out for you," Viviane said. "I hoped it would."

"How about you and Cade?" Mattie asked, turning. "You figured out what you want to do yet?"

Viviane hesitated, then nodded. "I'm staying with him. We're stuck for now anyways, Lennox isn't letting anyone leave. But I'm not leaving his side again. I actually sent my job an e-mail on the plane out here, letting them know I quit." She paused, looking at Mattie. "To be honest, I have another reason to stay, now. It's not just me anymore."

Mattie stared at her. "You don't mean…"

Viviane nodded, smiling slightly, a very becoming blush spreading across her cheeks. "I do." Then she grinned widely. "I'm pregnant."

Mattie squealed, throwing her arms around the other woman. "No way! Congratulations!" She pushed the other woman out and held her at arm's length, looking down at her flat stomach. "You can't be far along?"

"No," Viviane shook her head, "about two months."

Mattie quickly counted backwards in her head. "Wow, you were only visiting for a week in June. You guys must have been busy!"

Viviane blushed, grinning. "To be honest, this wasn't exactly a goal. We haven't been together that long, and it's been kind of a hurricane time. But I wouldn't change it."

"Does Cade know?" Mattie asked, still smiling like an idiot. _Cade's gentle nuzzling on Viviane at the bonfire the other night suddenly takes on a brand new meaning, doesn't it?_

"Yes, I told him as soon as we got here. I hadn't been sure all that long." Viviane smiled. "He's thrilled."

"That's good," Mattie gushed. "He'd better take good care of you." She paused. "You look very happy."

"I am. A bit nervous, I'll admit, but thrilled. And Cade's done it before, so he's just excited." Viviane paused, and giggled. "Huh. And speaking of excited…" She looking past Mattie to the glass wall on one side of the pool.

Lennox was standing behind it, grinning from ear to ear and waving like crazy.

Mattie giggled. "Let's go see what he wants, shall we?"

* * *

Lennox was waiting for them outside the changing rooms as they came out, bouncing slightly on his toes. "So you guys need to get ready for some visitors," he grinned when he saw them.

Mattie frowned, confused. "Visitors? Here?"

"Yup." He smirked. "Morshower's arranged it."

"Who?" Viviane said, sounding as confused as Mattie felt.

"Your parents," Lennox grinned at Mattie. "They're coming tomorrow. Time for Bee to meet his in-laws."

Mattie just gaped.


	32. Chapter 32

"They're coming tomorrow?" Bumblebee asked, surprised. His voice echoed around the empty hangar – once again, they were taking advantage of the fact that the other 'bots were busy.

Mattie nodded, her head against his chest. "Lennox just told me."

Bee was quiet for a moment, before he gently took up his steady stroking of her back again – one digit, up and down from her hips to the lengths of her still-damp hair. The way he'd always done it.

"How do you want to handle it?" he asked.

"I have no idea." Mattie frowned. "I always meant to tell them when you met them in person. I just never figured you would meet them in person on an army base in the middle of an ocean, where they had to be flown in secretly because some crazy alien lady is apparently aiming to destroy our planet using what's in Viviane's head and her bloodline." Bee had told her about Quintessa the night before.

"I know. It's surreal."

"Yeah," she sighed. "That's putting it mildly."

"If you want…" Bee hesitated.

Mattie looked up at him, reaching up to let one hand trace across his faceplate. "If I want what?"

"Well… If you want, you can just introduce me as Bumblebee. And we can do the whole mate explanation next time I meet them."

"Are you sure?" Mattie twisted in his grip, crawling up to where she was leaning on his faceplate and looking into his optics. "Is that an option?"

He nodded, carefully so he didn't dislodge her. "Sure. If it makes it easier."

Mattie leaned in and kissed his faceplate. "I love that you'd do that for me. But no. I want them to know. I want to tell them."

Bumblebee grinned, looking relieved. "Thank Primus. I'm not sure I'm that good of an actor that I could pretend to just be a friend."

Mattie giggled. "Me neither."

He kissed her head. "So what's the story anyway? What's the cover for why we're out here?"

"Research, apparently," Mattie smiled. "Lennox and Optimus worked it out. You guys were needed for a research project, and we were allowed to tag along. That covers Jack's lessons with Optimus, too."

"Sounds plausible," he agreed. "We can probably work with that."

They were silent for a while, his digit never ceasing the stroking up and down her back. Mattie snuggled up against his chest.

"Is there a protocol?" Bumblebee asked.

Mattie frowned. "Huh?"

"For meeting one's mate's parents for the first time," he explained. "Is there a protocol? A norm?"

Mattie chuckled quietly. "Nerves, I think. Usually, the guy is nervous and the dad threatens to shoot him if he's not nice to his little girl."

The digit paused momentarily. "Is your father going to threaten to shoot me?"

She grinned up at him. "Nervous?"

"Not about being shot at." He smiled slightly. "But a bit about meeting them, yeah." His arms tightened around her. "I'm not exactly what parents would wish for their child."

"I think they'll like you," Mattie murmured. "Heck, I know they do. They already like you for you, and they're grateful to you for taking me in. It's just the couple thing they need to get their head around." She let her fingers trace the Autobot symbol on his chest. "My mother is very protective, very bubbly, very what-you-see-is-what-you-get. If she's mad at you, you'll know. If she likes you, you'll know that too. My father is more reserved, but he thinks more than she does. He might not speak a lot, but he notices everything. He's where Jacques got his brains. But if he doesn't like someone – well, he doesn't forgive easily. Then again, he doesn't get mad easily either, it takes a lot to make him angry." She kissed the symbol. "I think you'll be fine."

"I hope so."

* * *

Mattie's heart was thrumming so hard she could barely breathe, and her hands were shaking so badly she had to hide them in her sleeves to conceal it. The plane carrying her parents had just touched down on the tarmac.

 _Calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down,_ she chanted in her head. _Hi mom, this is Bumblebee. He's my mate. No. Bonjour papa, this is Bumblebee. We're together. Fuck, what do I do? Hi Maman, Papa, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Bumblebee. Hi mom, dad, you remember Bumblebee, don't you? Well, there's something more you need to know… I am so doomed._

Viviane walked up next to her. "Relax, Mattie. If you don't start breathing, you'll faint by the time the plane has stopped."

Mattie nodded, trying to do as she was told. It was harder than she'd thought.

"They're going to be okay with it," Viviane murmured. "They love you."

The plane slowed to a stop, and Mattie took a few deep breaths. Jacques came up to stand beside her, taking her hand.

"Wow, your hands are really sweaty," he commented. "They're not going to kill you, you know. Stop being so nervous. I was okay with it, wasn't I?"

"Yeah, kid," Mattie muttered. "But you're a kid."

He grinned. "Here they come."

A woman appeared at the top of the steps leading out of the smallish aircraft. She was shorter than Mattie, but had the same curly brown hair. Behind her came a tall, lanky man, dark hair graying at the temples, looking around carefully.

Mattie let go of her brother's hand and ran. She ran until she was caught up in two pairs of strong arms that took hold of her and pulled her tight to them, making her feel like a child again. Suddenly, tears were streaming down her face and she was sobbing.

"It's all right, sweetheart," her mother crooned, holding her close and stroking her back gently.

"I've missed – you guys – so much!" Mattie mumbled between sobs. She burrowed into her mother's shoulder.

Her father chuckled quietly. "We missed you too, chérie," he murmured, pressing his lips against the top of her head. "More than I can say."

Her mother held her close for another moment, then held her out at arm's length. "Now. Stop crying, sweetheart, and let me look at you."

Mattie gave a slight giggle and tried to wipe the tears from her face with her sleeve. Then she pirouetted slowly, until she stood facing her mother again.

The older woman grinned and nodded. "You look wonderful, Marie. They're apparently taking good care of you."

Mattie nodded, still sniffling slightly. "They are. Oh, it's so good to see you. Come on, come and meet my friends."

She took each of them by the hand, pulling them back towards the others. Jacques came up to them, hugging their parents quickly and then walking along with them back to where Cade and the others were waiting.

Mattie wiped at her eyes again. "Mom, dad, this is Cade Yeager and Viviane Wembly, and Izabella. And this is Colonel Lennox."

"It's so nice to finally meet you!" her mother gushed, shaking hands and giving out hugs. "I mean, we've talked over the phone, but to see you in person, well I didn't think I'd be able to, not this year, and oh my dear, aren't you as pretty as a picture! And you, child, you're an absolute princess, aren't you?"

Mattie grinned. Her mother was apparently nervous too. Viviane hugged back, smiling at her, and Izabella looked mildly confused, but allowed herself to be hugged just the same. _I doubt anyone but her parents has called her a princess before, at least not when she's covered in grease and oil and wearing dirty overalls._

Lennox grinned. "Welcome to Diego Garcia, mr. and mrs. Saint-Édain. It's nice to meet you at last."

Her father shook Lennox' hand. "Thank you for arranging this, Colonel," he said, his accent faint but noticeable. "We really appreciate it."

"Absolutely," Lennox nodded. "Come on, you must be tired after your long trip."

"Cogman's set up lunch for us outside the administrations building," Viviane put in. "I hope you're hungry, he was so eager to have guests that he overdid himself slightly."

"Well, I'm hungry, anyway," Jacques announced. "So it's no problem."

"Yes, but you're always hungry," their mother said fondly, stretching up to ruffle his hair. "And honestly, I don't know where you put it. You're as skinny as a rake."

"Knock it off, mom," Jacques groaned. Mattie could hear the grin in his voice though, and see the blush spread across his neck.

They were coming up to the end of the tarmac, and Mattie's heart began pounding again. She knew who was waiting for them on the other side of the administrations building, just where they'd planned he'd be. She fought to keep her breathing even and slow.

When they walked around the corner, Bumblebee was sitting back on his heels with his back leaned up against the wall. A perfectly normal sitting position, but since his head brushed the second floor window she bet nothing about it felt normal to her parents. Bee was nervous too – Mattie could tell from the way he held his head, the tense line of his shoulders, the way he looked everywhere. He turned towards them when they came down the path between the buildings.

"Mom, dad," Mattie began, voice shaking slightly. _God, I hope they don't notice._ "This is Bumblebee."

Her mother shot her a short, sharp look before turning her attention back to the Autobot in front of them.

Bumblebee nodded at them with a small smile. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Oh my God," her mother said, her hand flying to her mouth. "Oh my God. Oh my God."

"Mom," Jacques said, sounding a little embarrassed. "You're glitching."

"I'm what?" His mother stared at him.

Jacques sighed. "You're freaking out."

"No, I'm not," she said, shaking her head and still staring at Bee. "It's just, oh my God. Oh my God."

Mattie looked from her mother to Bee. _I can't tell them until she calms down. I can't tell them yet._

Bee seemed to understand. "I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable."

Jacques threw his arms up. "Mom, calm down! This is _Bee_. You've talked to him a gazillion times. He's a friend."

His mother just kept on mumbling, still one hand over her mouth, still staring at Bee.

Mattie looked at her father. He hadn't spoken yet, but he was staring at Bee too, his eyes as wide as they could go. Then he seemed to shake himself slightly, and stepped past his still mumbling wife to take a few steps closer to Bumblebee.

"Bonjour, Bumblebee," he said. "It's nice to meet you too. I apologize if we seem a bit – shocked. But we are. Talking to you on the phone has really not prepared us for meeting you face to face."

Bee nodded, smiling slightly. "I can understand that. But I hope you know you have nothing to fear from me. From any of us. As Jack said, we're friends."

"Of course," her father replied, looking slightly surprised. "We know this. We owe our daughter's life to you. But still…"

"Still it's a bit overwhelming, huh?" Cade said, walking up to him. "Would be weird if it wasn't. Don't worry, it'll pass. But maybe we should just go eat lunch, and talk more later? Bee, want to come?"

"I'll join you guys in a little while," Bee replied. "Optimus needed to talk to me about something first. I'll see you all later."

Mattie took her mother's hand, trying to get her to follow Cade and the others. "Come on, mom. Let's go. Cogman's waiting, and I have a few more friends I'd like you to meet."

Her mother started, tearing her gaze away from Bumblebee to land on Mattie. "More friends?"

"Yeah, two of Lennox' soldiers. They're going to have lunch with us."

"Soldiers?" her mother questioned, still wide-eyed. "Not aliens?"

Jacques snorted. "No, they're not aliens. Although sometimes they act like they're from another planet."

Mattie looked into the older woman's eyes. "Mom, are you scared of Bee right now? I can understand if you are, I was too at first. But I'd like to know."

Her mother stared back for a few long seconds, then visibly shook herself. "Scared? No, I don't think I'm scared. I recognize his voice from our phone calls. I'm just – I wasn't prepared for this. I thought I was, but I guess nothing really can prepare you for your first alien encounter, can it?"

Mattie giggled. "No, it really can't. Not for the second or third one either, for that matter."

Bumblebee was still sitting, looking at them. _He's not going to move until we've left,_ Mattie realized. _He doesn't want to scare her._

Turning towards him, she gently tugged at her mother's hand. To her surprise, she followed, walking behind Mattie until they were standing almost at Bee's peds. _It worked for me, it will work for her._ Mattie stretched out a hand, laying it against the warm yellow paneling.

"Bumblebee, this is my mother. Mom, this is Bumblebee."

Again, her mother shot her that sharp look, longer and more scrutinizing this time. But thankfully, instead of falling into a new fit of oh-my-Gods, her mother took a deep breath and turned towards Bee again.

"Hi, Bumblebee darling. I'm sorry for my reaction."

Bee's face split into a huge grin. "That's quite okay, mrs. Saint-Édain. Really, I don't mind."

"Please, call me Chloe," her mother said, smiling slightly. "You're practically family, the way you've been taking care of my daughter. Mattie's very fond of you."

"I care about your daughter," Bee said simply, earning him too one of those sharp looks. Mattie froze slightly, staring at him. "Your children are our friends, just as Cade, Viviane and Izabella are," Bee continued. "We value their friendship greatly."

Her mother nodded, still shooting strange glances at both Mattie and Bee. "I guess I understand that. It can't be easy, being visitors on a strange planet." She gave a little chuckle. "Believe it or not, I can relate on a smaller scale, from when I first moved to France."

Bee nodded. "Yes, I imagine you can."

Jacques groaned. "Yes, fine, we're all friends and it's all good and being aliens is tricky. But I'm hungry, and if we don't hurry Izzy will have eaten all of Cogman's Belgian waffles." He tugged at Mattie and their mother until they started walking. "See you later, Bee bot."

Mattie let herself be towed along with her mother, who was grinning exasperatedly at her son's impatient back before twisting in his grip to look back at the tall yellow Autobot. "I look forward to talking with you a bit more later, Bumblebee," she called. "If you'd like."

"Sure thing," he nodded, smiling at them. "I'll see you guys after lunch. Bye, Mattie."

Mattie smiled and winked at him. Her mother stared at her again.

"What?" Mattie huffed. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh, nothing," her mother said, smiling slightly. "It's just so long since I've seen you, is all."

 _Yeah,_ Mattie thought _. Like that's all it is. Why do I get the feeling we're in a lot of trouble here?_ Trying not to think of it, turning slightly to look back at the now standing Autobot, she let her brother drag her on to the administrations building. _Let's hope this works out. I really need this to work out._

* * *

Mattie leaned back against the wall, watching Ryan and Quinn playing ball with Jacques and Izabella. Lennox was standing on the other side of the gaming pitch, deep in conversation with Bumblebee and Optimus. Her father still sat at the table, discussing something with Cade and Viviane, and her mother was walking towards her, two glasses of orange juice in her hand.

"Here you are, sweetheart," she said, handing her a glass before sitting down next to her. "Ooh, I'm so full I can barely bend over."

Mattie grinned. "Yeah, Cogman makes an awesome lunch, doesn't he?"

"He's an odd character," her mother conceded, "but yes, that he does."

They watched the ball game for a moment. Mattie wasn't sure what exactly they were playing – it looked like a mix of American football and volleyball, but she couldn't tell who were winning or even how they were keeping score. It looked absolutely ridiculous.

"You seem very happy, Marie," her mother said quietly.

Mattie nodded. "I am. I've got friends here."

"So I see. You don't want to go back to university then? Or come home?"

Mattie turned to look at her mother, who was hiding most of her face behind her glass of orange juice. "Come home?"

Her mother nodded. "Yes. We've finished renovating, you're welcome back if you want to."

"Well, I'm glad you got everything back in working order," Mattie said, biting her lip slightly. "I… I don't want to come back yet, though. It's not that I don't miss you, because I do, every day. But what would I do at home? All my friends are here. And yes, I would like to finish my degree, but the university is still rebuilding. All the students have been granted a year's hiatus, and are welcome back next fall. I thought I would stay with these guys until then."

"I can understand that. There are good people," her mother said. "And I'm sure it has nothing to do with a certain tall, yellow Autobot."

Mattie sputtered and looked at her mother, who was hiding behind her glass again. "What?"

Her mother gave her a small smile. "I may not have seen you for a while, but I'm not blind, sweetheart. I can see the way you two look at each other. Do you want to tell me what's going on between you and Bumblebee?"

Mattie sighed. Now it was her turn to hide behind her glass. "I don't know how to tell you." _I'm scared you'll freak out._

"Well, let me tell you what I see then," her mother said, putting a hand on Mattie's knee. "He looks at you like you're the sun. Even now, when he's discussing something important with his leader, he's constantly glancing at you, and you're constantly looking at him. Plus, I can hear it in your voice when you say his name, honey. When I think back, I've actually noticed it for a while, even over the phone, the way you both talk about each other. There's something there. Add that to the fact that he says he'll be by your side as long as you want him to, that he cares for you, and the way you touched him…" The hand lying on Mattie's leg gave a gentle squeeze. "All together, I can tell something's going on."

Mattie looked down on the hand on her knee. "Do you think it's weird?" she asked quietly.

Her mother sighed. "Marie, I watched you go through living hell, and no matter how much we tried to fix it we couldn't. I was afraid we would lose you for a while. And then to see you fight so hard, to claw your way out of that… And now, you're as happy as I've ever seen you. To be honest, I'll take it and be grateful that you've found happiness again, even if the reason is an alien." She smiled wryly, shaking her head. "The universe just got so much bigger. It's a new reality now, we have to learn to coexist with them. Heck, you can be a trailblazer."

Mattie chuckled quietly, leaning against her mother. "I love him, mom. And he loves me."

"Yes, that's what I thought," her mother said, putting an arm around her. "That's what I thought."

They sat silent after that, watching the ball game draw to an end of sorts. At least, Mattie thought the fact that Quinn took the ball and threw it over the mess hall building meant that the game ended.

"We're taking Jacques back home with us," her mother said quietly.

Mattie nodded. "Yeah, I figured you would. That's better for him. He learns things here, but he's not getting an education. I tried to get him to go back to you guys before we flew out here, but he wouldn't hear of it." She sighed. "We're going to miss him, though. I bet he wasn't too happy to learn that he would be leaving."

"We haven't told him yet," her mother sighed. "Your father is letting Cade and Viviane know now. We have to tell him tonight though, since we're leaving tomorrow."

"He's not going to be happy," Mattie said. "He likes it here."

"I know. To be honest, I was hoping you and the others could help us convince him."

Mattie nodded. "We can talk to him later." She took a deep breath. "I suppose I have to talk to Papa, too. Explain about me and Bee."

Her mother smiled. "He knows."

Mattie twisted, staring at her. "He knows? How? You didn't know!"

"You forget how perceptive your father is," her mother said, shaking her head. "All right, he might not know the exact of it, but he knows there's something between you two. In fact…"

Mattie followed her mother's gaze, to see her father stand up from his seat with Cade and Viviane and walk towards where Bumblebee was standing with the others.

"I think he's doing the talk for you," her mother finished.

* * *

Bumblebee straightened when Mattie's father came walking towards him. He looked briefly at his mate, sitting across the lawn, wearing a look that Bee could only describe as sheer panic. _What's wrong now?_

"Bonjour, Bumblebee," her father said. "Do you have a moment? I would like to talk to you, if you do not mind."

 _Is this when he's going to threaten to shoot me?_ "Okay," Bee nodded. "Optimus, Lennox, we done?"

"Yeah, sure," Lennox said, waving him away. "Go mingle, Bee."

Bumblebee followed Mattie's father over to a table set up in the shade of the administrations building, out of earshot of everyone else. When her father sat down on a chair, Bee sat down on the ground on the other side of the table. He was still towering over the fellow, but that couldn't be helped. _Hopefully he doesn't find me intimidating._

Her father cleared his throat, looking up at Bee, but still hesitating to say anything, so Bee simply waited.

"I haven't seen my daughter for more than a year," he started finally. "We took her to America last summer, to start her university degree. We thought she would be as safe there as anywhere else, but we could not foresee what would happen."

Bumblebee looked down on the ground between his peds. "Nor did we," he replied quietly. "I wish we could have."

"Wishing changes nothing," the other man said. _He doesn't sound angry at least_. "But the point of the matter is, we almost lost her. We would have, if it hadn't been for you. If it hadn't been for you and the – family – you've built with the others here, she also wouldn't have had anywhere to go. And we are very grateful for that, more grateful I think than you will ever understand. I don't suppose you have children." He looked up at Bee questioningly.

Bee shook his head. "Our race doesn't work like yours do. We establish similar and equally strong family bonds, based on friendship, but it's not the same."

"Then you cannot understand completely. There is nothing a father will not do to defend and protect his children. And when she needed me the most, I was stuck on the other side of the world. Those weeks of uncertainty, when I didn't know if she was alive or dead, those were the worst weeks of my life. It was even worse than watching her live through the hell that was her early teenage years and being powerless to change it."

Bee nodded. "Yes, Mattie told me about that."

"Good," her father said. "If she's being honest about that time of her life, that means she feels safe. She told you everything?"

"Yes. Even about the pictures of her that they spread." Bumblebee was suddenly furious about that. _When I get back on the internet, I'm going to purge it._

"That was a horrible time for her," her father sighed. "My poor girl. I would have given everything to spare her that."

"She doesn't regret it," Bee said. "She told me. She doesn't regret any decision that led to her being where she is right now, and she sees that part of her life as a major factor."

Her father stared up at him in surprise. "She's never said that to us." Then he turned, looking out across the lawn to where the rest of his family was sitting, laughing at something Ryan was doing. The guitars were back out.

"She seems so happy here, Bumblebee," her father said. "I have never seen my little girl surrounded by friends like this, not even when she was a child before the nightmare started. She never had many friends around her."

"I think she's happy," Bumblebee said cautiously. _Where is this going?_

"My wife is offering her the chance to go back home with us," the other man continued. Bumblebee stiffened. "But I know she's going to say no. She wants to stay here, I can see that. Part of that is because she has friends here, she fits in. But the largest part, Bumblebee, is because of how she feels about you."

Those dark blue eyes, almost exactly the same shade as Mattie's, looked up at Bumblebee searchingly.

Bee hesitated. _What the pit do I say?_ It was hard to come up with something clever under that scrutinizing gaze. So in the end, he settled for simply telling the truth. Her father deserved that much. _Primus, I hope this doesn't come back to bite me._

"I love your daughter, monsieur," he said quietly, optics resting on that slight form sitting across the lawn. He watched as one small hand came up to push a stray curl out of her eyes, that smile that encompassed the world beaming on her face. His spark ached. "I have since I first found her. There's nothing I won't do for her."

"Good," her father nodded. Bumblebee stared down at him. "If you had said anything less than that, I would have taken her on the plane with us tomorrow, her own wishes be damned. I will not see her suffer through another heartbreak like she had at fourteen."

"You…" Bumblebee said, fumbling for words. "You… accept this?"

"I accept what makes my daughter happy," the other man replied. "And son, you make her happy. Yes, it might have been easier on all concerned if you were actually human. But you're not, and we can't change that. If this is what her heart wants, then I will not stand in the way of that. As long as I know you care for her as deeply as I suspected you did when I first saw you two together, I accept it willingly. And so does my wife."

Bumblebee looked at him. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Mattie's father grinned. "I'm aware that you both must have been worried about what we would think. And not without cause, I suppose – yours is not the most normal of relationships."

Bumblebee snorted. "No, that's the truth. But believe me when I say that Mattie… Mattie is all that I want. You say she's happier than she's ever been, well, so am I. She's more than I could ever ask for."

"I know," her father said simply. "I can see that." He stood up, walking over to Bumblebee and stretching out his hand. "Welcome to the family, son."

Bumblebee stretched out his own servo, letting one digit rest against the proffered hand.

* * *

The smallish plane was waiting on the tarmac, engines idling. Mattie looked up at her father. She bit her lip.

"Are you sure it's okay that I don't come back with you guys?"

Her father nodded, smiling slightly. "It is, chérie. You belong here, with your friends. Besides, we couldn't fit Bumblebee on the plane anyway."

"We'll come visit you again," her mother put in. "Or you're welcome to visit us, of course, anytime you like. We can show Bee where you came from."

"I'd like that," Bumblebee replied, grinning. "When we have the chance."

Mattie threw her arms around her parents. "I will miss you. So much."

Her mother pulled her close and kissed her hair. "We'll miss you too, sweetheart. Every waking minute. But we know you're in the safest hands imaginable."

"Well, kid, it was nice to meet you," Cade said, shaking Jacques' hand. "Take good care of your folks."

"You are welcome back at any time," Optimus rumbled. "I have enjoyed our lessons."

Jacques gave them a crooked grin. "Thanks, guys. I'll see you around, okay? Bye, Viv."

Viviane gave him a hug. "Bye, Jack. Write us, okay? The letters do make it here eventually."

"Absolutely." Jacques turned towards Izabella. The little brunette stood at the end of the line, looking everywhere but at him.

"Izzy…"

"Have a good flight, okay?" She smiled brightly at him, but the smile was brittle.

"Um. Yeah. Thanks." Jacques ran a hand through his hair. "I'll come visit you, I promise."

"Yeah, that'll be nice," Izzy replied, still smiling that fragile smile.

 _Poor Izzy._ Mattie stretched out a hand to find Bee behind her. _She's taking this hard._

"Well, bye then," Izabella said, too brightly. "It's been nice having you around."

"Yeah," Jacques replied, staring at her. "Bye, Izzy." He started turning away from her, following his parents. Then he paused, before he suddenly turned back to Izabella and pressed his lips against hers.

Mattie gaped. _Wow. First kiss. And in public, no less. He's braver than I thought_. She heard a faint chuckle – Cade apparently thought along the same lines.

Jacques broke off the kiss. "I'll come back, okay? I promise. And I'll write to you."

Izabella threw her arms around him, burrowing her face against his neck. "You'd better," she mumbled.

"Jacques, come on! The pilot wants us!"

"Coming, mom!" He leaned in, pressed his lips gently to Izzy's again. "I've got to go." Then he looked around at the others, a faint blush on his cheeks. "Bye, guys. I'll see you around." He dropped his arms from around Izzy reluctantly, and turned to jog towards the airplane.

Mattie walked over to Izabella and put her arms around her. "He'll be back," she said softly. "I've never known Jacques to give up on anything he likes."

Izabella just nodded, pulling out of Mattie's arms. "Excuse me. I'm going to my room for a while." She turned and left.

Cade and Viviane exchanged a glance. "I'll go talk to her," Viviane said. "Make sure she's alright."

"Thanks, honey," Cade said, pressing his lips to Viviane's temple.

Mattie watched as the plane took off from the tarmac and became a dwindling speck against the sky. Then she was picked up off the ground, and cradled close to Bumblebee's chest.

"Well, that went better than I had dared to hope for," he murmured, mouth pressed against her hair.

Mattie grinned. "Wow. Yeah, you're right. We survived. And my family still likes me."

"Feel like celebrating?" Bee said, mischief thick in his voice.

"Celebrating?" Mattie twisted in his grip, so she could look up at his face. "Celebrating how?"

He chuckled. "Oh, I can think of a few things." With that, he strode off towards the beach.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some time has passed in-story between the last chapter and this one.

Mattie woke to the feeling of someone kissing his way up her naked body. She stretched lazily without opening her eyes. "Is it morning already?"

"Somewhat," Bumblebee purred, kissing and nibbling his way across her abdomen.

"It's somewhat morning?" Mattie yawned. "What does that even mean?"

"It means that technically it's not quite morning yet, but it is dawn, and you're so fragging irresistible that I just decided that it's time to wake up," Bumblebee murmured, letting his mouth trace the curve of her ribs.

Mattie giggled. "Oh, okay. Good morning, then."

"Good morning." Bumblebee sucked gently on her fingers, before moving back up her arm.

Mattie shivered, goosebumps covering her flesh. Bumblebee twisted with her so she was lying on his chest, and pulled the covers back over her. "Sorry. Forgot about the cold."

"No worries," she murmured, planting little kisses along the edge of his jawline. "I'm not cold anymore now."

The drawback of living in an aircraft hangar was that no matter how you fixed it up, it was still an aircraft hangar. It didn't matter that Lennox had had new walls put up to make a screened-off bedroom for them, had reinforced and isolated the walls around their bed and living area, or how many heating units he had put in, it was still a tall metal structure meant for keeping the weather out, but not keeping the heat in. Add to that the ceiling height and sheer room size that was required for Bee to live in there comfortably, and it was no wonder that the air never heated fully now that autumn had come outside.

Still, it was their own. No more sneaking between the civilians' barracks and the hangar whenever Bumblebee had it to himself, no more hiding among the sand dunes. They had their own bedroom. And the bed was _huge_.

Bumblebee rumbled contentedly beneath her. "I think I'd just like to stay here with you today."

Mattie grinned, working her way up his cheek. "No can do, I'm afraid. You have training exercises, and I actually have a job to go to."

He snorted. "Spoilsport." He twisted with her again, so she was lying on her back in the bed with his head hovering over her. He nipped lightly at her hands.

"Maybe." She smirked. "Then again, you did wake me up very early."

"Yes," he murmurs against her bare stomach. "Unfortunately, though that means you have good time, I don't. I'm meeting Optimus in a little while. Strategy meeting with Lennox and Morshower. I just couldn't leave you sleeping."

She grinned, arching her spine slightly in response to his kissing. "And you're calling me a spoilsport? You're starting things you can't finish."

Bumblebee made a low rumbling noise in his chest. "I can still enjoy you for a while."

Mattie smacked his head lightly with her palm. "No, you don't. Remember last time you did that, left in the middle of things? I couldn't focus for hours. Lennox thought I was sick. No, Bee, if you're leaving soon, I'm going to take a shower." She stretched up and pressed her mouth to his. "Stop pouting. If you behave, I'll let you watch."

He grumbled, a low whine that sent tingles up her spine, as she scooted away from underneath him and over the edge of the bed before walking over to the bathroom.

"If I behave?" he asked from behind her.

She looked at him over her shoulder, smirking. "Come on, then."

* * *

The sun was still barely up when she walked out of their hangar, heading towards the administrations office across the base. The air was chilly and clear.

"Morning, Mattie! Up early?"

She turned. "Morning, Hound! Good to see you back on your peds!"

The big Autobot grinned at her. "Yeah, Cade finally fixed them. Took him a bit longer than I hoped, but I guess I can't blame him for being distracted these days. You've heard that it's a boy?"

Mattie nodded, smiling. "Yeah, Viviane told me. She's really excited."

He chuckled. "Yeah, who wouldn't be? I have to admit, with that bloodline, we're all a bit excited. I'll see you around, huh?"

She nodded and waved at him. "Later!"

She wasn't surprised to see the lights were on in the office when she arrived. In the three weeks since Lennox had decided she might as well earn her keep and work as his secretary, with the added side task of working with Viviane to assemble a database combining the Autobots' knowledge of Quintessa with the Witwiccan Foundation's, the lights had only ever been off once when she arrived in the morning. Lennox worked himself hard.

"Morning," she called, locking herself in.

"Mattie? You're early," a grumbling voice said behind her.

"Blame Bee," she grinned. "Apparently, if he can't sleep in, no one else can either."

Lennox walked out of his office. "Well, the plane brought a heap of mail, so there's stuff for you to do at least. I think Cogman's sent about five different parcels of documentation."

Mattie looked where he was pointing. "Good. Maybe we can get somewhere this time." She gathered the crates of mail, carrying them into her own little cubicle. "Your meeting starts now?"

"Yup, in ten minutes' time," he replied. "I'll see you at lunchtime." He donned his jacket and left.

There was not that much actual mail, so after sorting through that, Mattie attacked the first of Cogman's five parcels. The Autobot had been back at the estate for almost two months, digging for information, and he kept them well appraised of everything he found. So far, not that much had been useful, but there was still a lot of information to go through.

This time, though, she wondered if the somewhat deranged Autobot was grasping at straws.

"Ley lines?" She frowned, folding out the huge map he'd included and laying it out on the desk. It looked new agey to her, but then again, a year ago she'd thought the Transformers were science fiction. She noticed that Cogman had marked certain areas on the map in red – New Grange, Angkor Vat, a few others whose names she didn't recognize. "Weird."

The documentation following the map was even stranger. Mattie turned on her laptop – the thing didn't have an internet connection, to prevent it from being hacked, but it was needed to create the database. _What are you chasing here, Cogman?_

The documents written out in Cogman's even, legible hand – he didn't trust the internet either – described places of power that were supposedly placed along nodes on the earth's grid of ley lines. Mattie didn't really understand what he was trying to get at – it seemed like so much mumbo jumbo to her. But one paragraph in particular grabbed her attention.

_'Known ley line nodes include both Stonehenge and the Pyramids in Egypt, and both locations have been used by the Cybertronians visiting Earth. Nodes also include where Megatron was first found in the ice, as well as other areas that have in the past been the target of Decepticon attacks. Note that every single one of Unicron's horns is situated at a ley node.'_

"I have no idea what that means, Cogman," Mattie muttered, but she highlighted the information just the same before reading on.

_'The staff's connection was at Stonehenge, but the information in the archives indicate that any of the known ley nodes will do. Stonehenge may be one of the more powerful ones, but the maps found in the Knights' ship details at least five other nodes that in themselves are equally as powerful. Using the staff at any one of these locations will most likely produce a reaction of the same magnitude as we saw when Quintessa tried to use it at Stonehenge. Note that a catalyst and a receptor will still be needed – the staff will drain the energy, but it still has to go somewhere.'_

"Crap, so she can still use it. That's annoying."

_'Another source, that also seems to have its origin with the knights of Iacon, indicates that times of transition are equally as important as the ley node in question. During times of transition, the nodes are believed to be more active, easier to reach, and thus easier to drain. This is especially important to keep in mind for the weaker ley nodes."_

"Wait. Times of transition." Mattie frowned, turning to the computer again – Cogman had sent over some information on that a few weeks earlier. It didn't take her long to find it.

_'In ancient times, the turning points between seasons were believed to be sacred times of transition, where mystical energies were more likely to come to the surface. Indicators of this can be found for instance in prehistoric calendars like the Celtic, where days like Samhain (marking the beginning of winter) and Beltane (marking the beginning of summer) were celebrated as mystic festivals.'_

"And when you add it all up…" Mattie mumbled, grabbing a note pad. "Known ley nodes plus times of transition equals bang, but she still needs the staff and somewhere for the energy to go. So we're basically still fucked, even though Stonehenge is out."

Pushing the parcel away, she opened another one. Inside the wrapping, there was a note. "Mattie, read this one first," she read out loud, then snorted. "Yeah, thanks. Helpful, putting that inside the wrapping, Cogs."

The first document she touched inside the parcel was covered in an untidy scrawl, with a yellow note stuck on it that had Cogman's neat script on it. _'Mattie,'_ it read. _'These are sir Edmund Burton's personal notes. They are important. Read them carefully. Cogman.'_

 _Okay… Weird, but when isn't he?_ Picking up the bundle of papers, she sat down in her chair and began reading.

* * *

"… there's no sign," Morshower finished, sighing. "It's like she's sunken into the ground."

"Well, that's not possible," Optimus growled. "Damn her. We have to be able to trace her somehow."

"Well, there's no luck so far," Lennox grunted. "It's been quiet."

"Yeah, too quiet," Morshower said, frowning. "We're getting too much of a break here. She must be up to something."

"Well, I guess we can always – " Lennox began, only to be interrupted by a loud pounding on the door.

"What the hell?" Morshower frowned as Lennox went to open the door.

The lithe, young figure darting into the room, arms full of papers, surprised them all. Bumblebee bent over to his mate, picking her up carefully and placing her on the dais. She looked up at them, blue eyes startled, breath heaving.

"What's up, Mattie?" Lennox could hear the concern in his own voice, and he didn't bother concealing it. Something had the girl scared.

"You need to hear this," she said, dropping the papers on the table. "This came over in one of Cogman's parcels. I can't believe he didn't connect the dots, I can't believe it, but he couldn't have, or he'd be here on that plane instead of sending all this in the mail, but I can't believe he missed it, this is pivotal."

"Calm down, angel, you're rambling," Bumblebee murmured, stroking her back carefully with one finger. She leaned into the touch gratefully.

"What I'm getting at," she said, taking a deep breath, "is this. These are Edmund Burton's notes. He figured out what Quintessa _wants_." She ignored the shocked looks of the men around her to spread the papers out on the table. "He didn't connect it either, not really, but he noted it anyway, which is good for us. It's here, all we need is here. At least, I think so."

"And what is it?" Morshower asked, with barely concealed impatience.

"What she wants, and how she's going to get it." Mattie looked up at them, biting her lip. _She looks like she suddenly realized she's in over her head here._

"Go on, Mattie," Optimus rumbled. Bumblebee tightened his hold on the girl, and she took another deep breath.

"I don't know what you've been discussing here, sir, not really. But as far as I understand, we were working under the idea that she was going to use the staff to drain Earth and restore Cybertron, right? Well, she's not. She doesn't give a damn about Cybertron, not really." Another deep breath. "But she really, really hates Unicron."

"Yeah, we got that too," Lennox said. "We figured she would try to end Unicron, that's why she's been snatching the teams on the horns. But she can't do it without the staff and Cybertron."

Mattie shook her head, looking from him to Morshower to Prime, leaning back into Bee's hand. "No, that's just it. According to this, she can. She doesn't need Cybertron at all. And she doesn't need Stonehenge, either. There are at least five other places on Earth that will do the trick, if she hits them at the right time of the year."

There was a stunned silence, almost solid enough to cut.

"How?" Optimus asked after several moments.

"I put it together from several different accounts," Mattie replied. "And I'm not a hundred percent sure that I'm right. But I think I am."

"Cybertron isn't necessary?" Prime repeated quietly.

She shook her head. "No. That's just somewhere for the energy to go. The easiest way for her to do this, to kill Unicron, is to use the staff and transfer the energy to Cybertron. But now that she's been – changed – she can actually transfer the energy unto herself. She couldn't do that before, it would have killed her. It says here." She pulled a paper from the pile. "'Only a creature of dormancy, not in its full capacity, can receive the energies. The amount of energy will kill any creature already at its full strength.'" She looked up again, eyes still wide.

Lennox took the document she was holding. "He wrote this before the battle last year. He didn't know Quintessa had been thrown from her form."

"So she can use the staff to transfer energy unto herself," Morshower repeated. "Keeping Cybertron out of her grasp isn't going to help one damned bit. And you say there are several locations she can use." He leaned heavily on the table. "Please say you have a silver lining in there, and that we're just not seven shades of screwed."

Mattie flinched.

_Poor kid. She's scared. She was never trained to handle any of this, she's been pushed into it._

"Easy, kiddo," Lennox said, looking at her. "This is good, what you've found out. Granted, it's bad news, but at least we know."

"I guess," she whispered. "I- I don't have a silver lining, though, sir. I'm sorry."

Morshower frowned. "Well, we're less in the dark than we were, anyway." He looked at Mattie. "We'll need a complete list of locations and times. Have Viviane help you."

Mattie nodded, leaning back against Bee's hand.

"The staff is still safe?" the general asked, looking at Lennox.

"I thought it was," he sighed. "At this, though, I don't know if anything's safe anymore."

Morshower grunted. "I've asked to be kept out of the loop on it. I think I need to rescind that. I can't help protect it if I don't know where it is."

Lennox looked at the other man for a long moment before nodding. "I guess you're right." He took a deep breath. "The staff is at Cheyenne Mountain."

Morshower stared at him. "Seriously? That's where you put it?"

"It seemed like the best spot," Lennox nodded.

Mattie looked at him. "Where's Cheyenne Mountain?"

"Just south of Colorado Springs," Lennox told her.

"That's good," she breathed, sounding a little relieved. "That's not really close to any of the ley nodes that Quintessa can use."

"It's not really close to anywhere," the general muttered. "It's certainly not close to well enough protected. But at least it's properly shielded – she shouldn't be able to trace the staff energy."

"You can't up the defense," Lennox frowned. "That will be a beacon to her."

"True. I'll figure something out." Morshower grunted, straightening from his lean on the table. He looked at Mattie. "Well, little lady, you've given me a hell of a lot to think about."

Mattie just nodded. _Poor kid, she's pale as a sheet._

"We'll need to figure out how to work this," the general continued heavily. "And it's going to be a real bitch. Until next time, gentlemen." He gathered up his papers and left.

The moment he was out the door, Mattie collapsed, her knees giving out under her. If Bumblebee hadn't already had his hand at her back, she would have fallen straight off the dais. As it was, Bee only narrowly managed to catch her, pulling her close to his chest.

"Mattie?" Lennox waited until those blue eyes were fastened on him. "You did really good. Really, kid. We needed to know this. You may just have given us the advantage here – now we know what she's after, we can work on how to counter it."

She nodded weakly. "Sorry," she whispered. "I'm just so scared I can barely breathe."

Lennox nodded, looked up at Optimus. The tall Autobot seemed to understand.

"Bumblebee, take Mattie home," he rumbled. "You're both off-duty for the rest of the day."

The kid shook her head tiredly. "No, I need to work on that documentation with Viviane. For those locations."

Lennox shook his head firmly. "That can wait until tomorrow. Go home. Rest." He looked up at the yellow Autobot scout. "Take her home, Bee."

Bee nodded, pulling her even closer. "Come on, angel."

As they left, Lennox looked up at Optimus. "So… This changes things."

The Autobot leader sighed. "It was well deduced, though. We may be able to gain the upper hand if we are quick and careful."

Lennox snorted. "Yeah, let's hope so. If not, seven shades of screwed will be just the beginning."

* * *

The next day saw the whirlwind of energy known as Viviane taking over Mattie's office. "We'll use the wall," the English woman decided. "It's big enough to pin up everything we need."

Mattie looked up at the wall Viviane was pointing at. "Yes, that'll work, I guess."

Viviane stood up, grabbing the pushpins. At five months pregnant, her baby bump was visible but not big enough to be interfering with anything yet. Mattie grabbed the other end of the map, and together they pinned it up on the wall in Mattie's tiny office.

"Well, it's a start," Viviane announced, leaning back against the desk. "Do you know these locations?"

"Some," Mattie nodded. "But not well. And I think Morshower wanted a watch list of sorts – you know, which locations are active when." She sighed. "I wish I could Google."

Viviane snorted, grinning. "Yes. If wishes were wings, though…" She picked up a stack of papers. "I enjoy this, actually. This old-fashioned way of doing research. It's almost like being back at university, doing my degree."

Mattie smiled at the other woman. "Do you miss it?"

"University?" Viviane looked over at her. "Sometimes. But what I have now…" Her hand cradled her bump delicately. "Well, I wouldn't change it."

Mattie smiled. "I guess I can see that. Have you guys started thinking of names yet?"

Viviane nodded. "We've thrown some ideas around. Like Christopher or George." She paused. "I'm leaning towards Caledon."

Mattie felt her eyebrows rise. "Caledon? That's not exactly run-of-the-mill."

"No, it's unique," Viviane replied, blushing slightly. "Do you think it's strange?"

Mattie shook her head firmly. "No. He's unique too, so it fits. Besides, it's no one's business what you call your firstborn but your own. Unless you decide to call him Megatron or something, in which case we will have to have words."

Viviane burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Cade sauntered into the tiny office, looking from one to the other.

"Oh, nothing much," Viviane giggled, wiping at the tears in the corner of her eyes. "Mattie just instituted a ban on Decepticon baby names."

Lennox, walking in behind Cade, chuckled. "What about Autobot names? I can think of a few that deserve honourable mentions."

Viviane grinned. "Mattie?"

Mattie frowned, making a show of thinking it over. "As middle names, possibly. The Autobot names carry meaning, so they can sound a bit dumb here. Then again, people name their children North and South and such these days." She nodded. "You have my permission to use Autobot names if you so desire. Just avoid the more hopeless ones."

Cade grinned, walking up to Viviane. "We'll see. I think he'll let us know what he wants."

Lennox looked up at the map on the wall. "So these are the big ley nodes, huh?"

Mattie nodded. "Yeah. Cogman's marked the ones that can be used without Cybertron." She pointed them out. "Angkor Vat, New Grange, the Osirieion and Nabta Playa in Egypt, Mnajdra and Ggantija on Malta, Tikal in Guatemala. All of them are associated with either the summer or winter solstice, so although they're active all year around she really needs to hit them at that time for it to be any kind of efficient."

Lennox walked closer to the map, studied it. "Huh. Good thing she didn't hit any of these when she first brought Cybertron into the system, she'd have killed the planet without us even noticing. We were focused on Stonehenge."

Mattie dropped her pen, and it clattered noisily to the floor. She stared at Lennox.

He seemed to notice her gaze at the back of his head, because he turned. "What?"

Viviane stared from Mattie to Lennox and back. "Oh my God, Mattie, you're right."

"Right? Right about what?" Cade asked, sounding confused. "She didn't even say anything!"

"But how?" Viviane breathed, twirling to look at the map.

"Please," Lennox said, staring at them, exasperated. "Stop being so bloody intuitive and tell us what the fuck Mattie is right about."

"She doesn't know," Mattie whispered. The next moment, she bounced up on her feet and ran to the map. "She doesn't _know_!"

Viviane turned to face the men. "Don't you see? Quintessa doesn't know! She doesn't know that Stonehenge isn't the only location!"

Cade dropped into the sole chair in the room. "You've got to be kidding me."

Mattie shook her head rapidly. "It's the only thing that makes sense! If she had known to use these, she could have gotten the jump on us, we wouldn't have expected her to go for anywhere but Stonehenge, and you guys were already there, right? Say –" she turned to the map, "- say she'd hit Angkor Vat then. How the hell would you have gotten there in time to stop her? And Prime knew where you were, he would have told her, so if she wanted to avoid you then she would just have connected Cybertron to another location, and we would have all been dead. But instead she wreaks personal havoc, gets way too up close and personal for anyone's comfort, and gives us the chance to defeat her! Do you really think she would have done all that if she'd known about these?"

Lennox stared at her. "Mattie, we should have recruited you ages ago." He took a communicator out of his pocket. "Optimus? We need to have another strategic meeting."

* * *

Mattie could barely keep herself still while Lennox explained their conclusions to Optimus and Bumblebee.

"Of course," Bumblebee sighed, eyes wide. "I can't believe we didn't see it."

"Nor can I," Optimus rumbled heavily. "I can think of a fair few mechs who would be irate that we did not."

Bumblebee looked at him, a look on his face that Mattie hadn't seen before. "We're not them. I know Prowl probably would have seen it, Jazz too, but we're not them."

"Neither is Mattie, but she saw it," Optimus pointed out. "But you are right. We cannot be expected to fulfil the roles of all those we have lost."

Viviane walked up to Optimus, placed a hand on his leg. "Let's just make sure we don't lose the rest of you, shall we?"

"We've been working on the assumption that she's after the staff first," Lennox said. He climbed the dais, and pointed down at the papers on the desk. "That's still in effect. We need to plan for her trying to take the staff."

"We also need to keep this information out of her hands," Viviane added. "Or we're royally fragged. To borrow a colloquialism."

"It would also be good to somehow disrupt these locations somehow, so even if she learns of them she cannot use them," Bumblebee murmured, letting his digit travel from one location to the other on the map that was spread out across the table top.

Mattie shook her head. "These are world heritage sites. We can't just break them down. They're open to the public, too."

"We need to not give her the chance to use them," Cade said, absently placing a hand on Viviane's waist. He looked up at the two Autobots, and over at Lennox. "So far, we've been on the defensive, waiting for her to make a move. I don't think we can afford to act like that anymore."

"You're saying we need to flush her out," Lennox said, eyeing him.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Cade nodded. "We need to make her bring her battle to us, in a location we've chosen, where we're prepared for it."

"Okay," Mattie said, opening her mouth for the first time. She felt seriously outmatched in this gathering. _I don't have the brains for this._ "How?"

"Optimus?" Lennox said, looking up at the Autobot leader. "You've had the most experience with her."

"That is true," the tall mech nodded. "However, her way of thinking is very – alien – to me. Even when she had control of my mind, I couldn't see the end result of her actions."

"All right then," Viviane sighed, sitting back in one of the chairs. "Let's all try to think like a maniacal ancient creature hell-bent on world destruction for a moment."

"Mattie?" Lennox asked. "Any thoughts?"

"Me?" Mattie just stared at him. "Hang on, are you saying that I'm the best at thinking like a maniacal creature hell-bent on world destruction?"

Lennox roared with laughter. "No, kiddo," he managed to force out after a few moments. "You're the one who figured her out in the first place, that's all."

Mattie shook her head in denial. "No, I didn't, that was sir Edmund and Cogman and you guys, even, not me. I just collected the dots."

"Then think of this as another set of dots," Cade said. "What does she want? What does she need?"

"Or, more precisely," Viviane interjected, "what does she think she need."

Mattie hid her head in her hands. _I can't do this. They're all waiting for me to figure this out? What if I can't? What if I get it wrong?_

Bumblebee's slow, stroking digit pulled her back to reality, and she lifted her head shakily. "She needs the staff," she muttered. "And she thinks the descendant of Merlin has the staff."

"The staff is hidden underground in a military complex, she won't be able to trace it where it is," Lennox said. "It's been safe so far."

Cade and Viviane looked at each other briefly. "So far," Cade agreed.

"The staff is the best way to flush her out," Mattie said, lifting her head all the way up and looking at them. "It's the only thing she thinks she needs."

"Not Cybertron?" Optimus asked quietly.

"She can't use Cybertron unless she has the staff first," Mattie said, shaking her head. "If she even chooses to. She'll go for the staff. After all, it's easier to squish a few organics and take her staff back than to take control of an entire planet hidden in deep space. Besides, she's not in Cybertronian form anymore. How the hell would she get to deep space?"

"You're probably right," Lennox nodded.

"Based on what I read in Cogman's papers, the staff controls where the energy will go. So when it was connected to Cybertron, the energy went to Cybertron. If she connects it to herself…" Mattie looked at the other people around her.

"… then the energy will enter her," Cade finished, nodding. "Sounds plausible."

Lennox looked at her. "So how do we lure her in?"

Mattie sighed. "You're asking as if I have all the answers. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm just going from ancient, incoherent notes from at least a dozen different sources collected by a pint-sized Autobot with more than a few issues crowding up his processor here. If we're lucky, I'm right. But we could equally as easily be unlucky." She took a deep breath, and climbed back out of Bee's lap. The documentation she needed was on the table. "The information about Cybertron being unnecessary is an extrapolation. The documents Cogman has assembled merely state that the energy will –" her hand found the document she was looking for, and she read out loud "- 'enter the damaged, ancient vessel until full power is restored'. Cybertron is a damaged, ancient vessel, but it's not actually specified that the vessel _has_ to be Cybertron."

"All men are mortal, but not all mortals are men," Viviane said.

"Exactly," Mattie agreed. "And Quintessa is definitely a damaged, ancient vessel at this point. I'd guess that without the staff, the energy will just be drawn to the nearest vessel."

"So it's less precise," Lennox stated.

"Probably," Mattie nodded, looking from one to the other. "And please tell me that you're not just taking my word for all of this, because that's freaking me out."

"We wouldn't go for it if we didn't agree with you," Lennox replied reasonably. "And it's giving us a game plan. Which, to be brutally honest with you, we really need right now or we're royally screwed."

Cade looked at him. "So what is the game plan?"

Lennox frowned. "We need to flush her out, and her need for the staff is the best way to do so. We need to draw her to a location of our choosing, where we can take her out."

"Oh, good," Viviane said, oozing of sarcasm. "And then we'll just live happily ever after, correct? How in the seven levels of hell are we going to accomplish this?"

Cade grinned, and leaned over to kiss her hair. "You're adorable when you're angry, you know that?" He looked up at Lennox, ignoring the pointed look Viviane shot at him. "She's right, though. How do we flush her out? Where do we draw her? And how the fuck do we take her out?"

"She's human now," Bumblebee put in.

"We don't know that," Cade said, shaking his head.

Mattie thunked her head down on the table. A strong, large servo enclosed her middle, and she was lifted up in the air, hanging like a rag doll with arms and legs dangling. Bumblebee looked up at her face.

"What's wrong, angel?"

 _He sounds worried._ "I'm fine," she grumbled. "But I'm also just me. I don't know anything about military tactics, I don't even know how to use a gun. I can't plan this. And I want to leave. And I'm hungry." _Crap, I sound like a whining brat._

Bumblebee laughed, loudly, and Lennox chuckled behind her. "I'm sorry, kiddo," he said, fighting to get his face back under control. "And you're right. Why don't you go grab some lunch or something? Take the rest of the day off."

"Yes," Optimus rumbled. "Neither you nor Viviane and Cade are military strategists. You can leave this up to us, if you wish."

"I'll stay," Cade said, frowning. "This concerns both of us – all three of us – directly." Viviane reached up to take his hand.

The gentle digits around Mattie's waist suddenly squeezed slightly, and Bumblebee pressed his mouth to hers quickly. "I love you," he murmured, nuzzling into her hair. "Wait for me later, 'kay?" Then he gently put her down on the floor.

Behind her, on the dais, Viviane stood up. "Lunch sounds good," she said, still sounding a bit miffed. "Don't end the world in our absence."

Cade pulled her close, kissing her, one hand gently stroking her stomach. "You're my world. I'll come find you in a while."

Viviane giggled, pulling away from Cade's grip and heading for the steps down from the dais. Mattie grinned and shook her head. She waited for the other woman to catch up and sneak an arm under her own.

"Come on, sweetie," Viviane grinned. "Let's leave the saving of the world to the men for once, shall we?"

Mattie tried to choke off her laughter, but it still forced its way out. "You think they're up to it?"

Viviane smirked, turning to look at the group of males standing around the table, staring after them with looks going from amused to confused. "We can only hope, can't we?"


	34. Chapter 34

"Bee, how old are you?" Mattie twisted on her elbow, looking up at Bumblebee.

"Not that old, but old enough," he replied, smiling slightly. "Why?"

"Do you remember much of Cybertron?"

He hesitated, then he walked over and sat down on the bed next to her. "Not that much. I was sparked after the war began."

"So you've basically been raised in war," Mattie said thoughtfully.

"I suppose so." Bumblebee tilted his head. "What's on your mind, angel?"

Mattie turned back, lay down on her back. "How do you manage? Constantly expecting another tragedy, always planning for an attack, never letting your guard down? I mean…" She paused for a moment, hunting for the right words. "I guess I've fooled myself into thinking that the war didn't exist, you know? Yeah, we've been attacked, but it mostly feels like I was a survivor of a natural disaster and then had a few car accidents or something afterwards. Not war. The thing with Thundercracker felt like a terrorist attack, you know, but now… This feels like war, like impending disaster. And if you've lived with it for millennia, how do you manage?"

"Well, it's all I've ever known," Bumblebee said hesitantly. "It's not something I had to get used to, it's just the way of things. But I guess… I guess you find what's worth fighting for, and you treasure joy and peace when you have it. Does that make sense?"

"I suppose so." She looked up at Bumblebee's face, high above her. "When does it stop being scary?"

He chuckled quietly, shaking his head. "You're not going to like the answer to that question. Eventually, though, you have to put fear behind you, or you stop functioning."

"How long did it take you to manage that?"

Bumblebee sighed, and began running one digit up along her body from her leg to her shoulder. "You scared, angel?"

Mattie nodded quickly. "Terrified," she whispered.

"But we're still safe here," Bee said, sounding a little confused. "You're safe, love."

"You don't understand," Mattie breathed, staring at the ceiling high above her. "I had to plan how to avoid the end of the world today. Nowhere's safe."

Bumblebee lay down next to her, looking up at the ceiling. "Do you remember what I said to you before Berserker attacked?"

Mattie nodded. "You said you wouldn't let anything hurt me."

"Exactly," Bee said. "And I still mean that. So don't be afraid, okay? Not right now, not when you're safe, with me, in our wonderful hangar house."

Mattie grinned despite herself. "Hangar house," she echoed. "Nice."

"Exactly. And that's just it," Bee said. She could hear the smile in his voice. "Yes, we're at war, but we're not warring all the time. In the lulls, there is time to do things like lie around in bed. Have campfires with friends. Play games with family. Make a family, even. And we have to treasure that." He twisted to lie on his side, looking at her. "You see? War doesn't mean you put your life on hold. It means you find something to fight for, and you hold on to that. You make it worth it."

Mattie took a deep breath. "I'm not a soldier, Bee."

"No, you're not. And I don't want you to be. You're what I fight for." He leaned over, nuzzled her hair. "Don't be afraid, angel."

"Easier said than done," she chuckled grimly.

"Want me to help you relax? I can give you a massage?"

Mattie twisted to look at him. "Seriously?"

He nodded eagerly, a very human gesture. "I can. I looked it up on the internet some time ago."

Mattie looked down at his servos. "But your digits are so… big."

He laughed, a rumble deep in his engine. _Holy crap, what a noise. Goes straight to my… um. Well._

"I can run electricity across my digits," he replied, smirking. "It'll feel like electrical stimulation therapy, I think."

Mattie frowned, leaned up on her elbow. "Are you going to electrocute me?"

He laughed again, loudly. _And again with the rumble. I swear, this 'bot will be the death of me._

"Of course not," he grinned. "I just promised that nothing would hurt you, didn't I? Take your shirt and pants off and lie on your front, I'll show you."

Mattie sat up, pulled her shirt over her head. As she lay back down and lifted her hips to wiggle her jeans off, she shot Bumblebee a warning look. "This better not be an elaborate plan to get in my pants."

He smirked. "Honey, I'm always aiming to get in your pants. But right now, my goal is to help you relax, okay? Lie down."

Mattie obliged, feeling more than a little nervous. _His finger is the size of my arm._

Bumblebee inched closer to her, one digit gently touching the base of her foot. Mattie squealed. "Bee, that tickles!"

"Sorry, angel," he said. She could hear the grin in his voice. Then his digit moved up her leg, and coherent thought abandoned her.

"Oh my God," she groaned. "That's – heavenly, Bee."

"I aim to please."

Who knows how Bee actually managed, but he found every single sore spot and cramped muscle in her body, his digits travelling across it slowly and carefully. Mattie felt herself sink slightly into the mattress, but she didn't have the willpower to move.

"Better?" Bee asked, a quiet chuckle in his voice.

"Mhm," Mattie sighed contentedly. "I might just never move again."

"Well, that doesn't sound like fun," he teased, gently letting one electric touch roam around her hips. "I think that maybe you're too relaxed now." One digit gently pushed in beneath her stomach, lifting and turning her until she was lying on her back. The electric touch travelled down her abdomen.

"I thought you said you were going to make me relax," Mattie murmured lazily, smiling slightly.

"I also said that I'm always aiming to get in your pants," Bumblebee replied with a low growl-like laugh. Mattie's skin erupted in goose bumps.

* * *

Grabbing the envelope from her bed, Izabella turned and climbed out the window to sit in the tall tree just outside her bedroom. Up here, she was almost completely hidden from prying eyes by the foliage. It was the closest thing to privacy she's found on the base – she wasn't confident enough to escape out across the sand dunes and into the woords, like Mattie and Bee used to do. The tree was good enough for her. At least she always knew where she was.

Leaning back against the tree trunk, she opened the letter carefully, pulling out several pages covered in writing. He always sent her long letters.

'Dear Izzy,' the letter started. 'I hope you're okay and that you got my last letter. I didn't wait for a reply before I sent this one. I hope you don't mind.'

She grinned quietly to herself. Of course she didn't mind, even though it threw them out of sync. She'd sent her reply to his last letter out with the plane that brought this one.

'I realized suddenly that your birthday's coming up. You did tell me when it was. I'm sorry I'm not there to give you a present in person. Then again, I suppose if I was there, I wouldn't be able to get you anything, so there's that. So I sent your present with this letter. Don't throw the envelope away until you're sure it's empty, okay?'

She put the pages down and picked up the envelope again. There were no more letter pages in it, but at the bottom there was another, small envelope. She fished it out carefully. 'Read letter first' was written across it. She smiled, picking the pages back up.

Next came details about his life – how his maths course was going, now that he was following it online instead of attending directly. The amount of rebuilding his parents had done on the house and grounds. Adapting to not having the Autobots around when he wondered something – though of course, he didn't write Autobots, he wrote 'my sister's friends'. Missing Prime's ('the big guy's') lessons. She turned to the second page.

'I miss you a lot. More than I even thought I would. Especially just hanging with you in the workshop, watching you fix things. I don't think you know how immersed you get in what you're doing when you do that. I think pretty much the world could pass you by when you're in there working, and you wouldn't notice. That's why I want to be in there with you, you know? I'm a bit afraid that if I'm not, I'm just part of the world that passes you by. And I don't want that. That's why I got you that present. (Which you shouldn't open yet, by the way.)

'Heh. Letters are funny things, aren't they? I feel like I'm putting a lot more thought into this than I ever would in an e-mail or text or something. It almost feels more permanent somehow, like it'll last longer. Which is ridiculous, 'cause it's just paper, anything electronic will be saved somewhere for ever but this won't. But it's nicer, isn't it? I think so, anyway.

I wanted to come visit you, but my sister wrote that that wouldn't be possible yet. I'm hoping that you get done with all that secrecy soon so I can see both of you again. Or maybe you can come here? I know my mom would love to have you. It's certainly not like we don't have room, the guest houses are almost fixed now. And I could take you riding, you've never tried that, have you?

Maybe you can all come for Christmas? Maybe not the big guy and the others, they're not that big on woods and Will would probably have a fit, but at least you and your dad and his girl and stuff. My sister and B would come too, of course. Maybe you can think about it?'

 _Huh. A normal Christmas._ Izzy lowered the papers momentarily. _That would be… That would be fantastic. And Christmas with him, too… Don't get your hopes up,_ she chided herself. _Your life isn't normal. You're not going to get to have a normal Christmas. Not yet, anyway._

Next came two whole paragraphs that he wanted her to convey to Prime, it was the answer to something they'd been discussing months ago.

'I'm sorry for bringing this into a letter to you, but I can't write him directly and I forgot to put it in my sister's letter. It's silly, really – all that fancy tech, and we're still out of touch. At least the classic written word never goes out of fashion.'

Then there was a long description of how autumn looked like in Brittany, probably as a response to her own description of how she remembered autumn in Chicago. She adored how it seemed like he wanted to drag her into his world – phrases like 'I wish you could see' and 'I wanted to show you' and 'it made me think of you' and 'we should go there together' were everywhere.

'Someday I'll show you,' he promised. 'Someday I'll show you everything that's important to me. And you can show me everything that's important to you.

I miss you, Izzy. I look forward to getting a letter back – heck, I'm already waiting for your response and I haven't even sent this one yet. Thank God you actually reply, or I would be a nervous wreck, haha :)

Seriously, though. I hope I'll see you again soon. And I hope you like your birthday present. I wish I could be there to see you open it. And I could kiss you happy birthday.

I guess I'll save that one up too. Heh, you've got a lot of kissing coming your way next time we meet if I keep this up. You'll tell me if it's too much, I guess.'

Izabella giggled silently. As if it could be too much. She missed him horribly.

'I'll have to close off now, or I'll fall asleep at my desk. Not that healthy. Don't forget me, okay? And if through some form of technomagic someone could get me a picture of you wearing your birthday present, I would love that.

You know how much I miss you. Can't wait for your reply.

Yours,

Jack.'

Izzy folded the letter up, and leaned back against the trunk of the tree. Yours, Jack, she mouthed, and grinned. She felt like floating away.

Tucking the papers back into the envelope, she turned her attention to the other little envelope. Her birthday was still some time away, but she was confident he wanted her to open it now.

The envelope was small and stiff, almost cardboard, and she opened it carefully. There was a tiny birthday card inside; at least, she knew it was a birthday card, but it mostly looked like an up-close picture of a car engine, all gears and pistons. She grinned at that, turning the card around.

'Izabella, open the pouch.'

Grinning, she fished a little purple drawstring pouch out of the envelope and loosened the strings. When she upended the pouch over her hand, a silver necklace fell out. The pendant was a strange figure eight lying on its side. _Wow, it's gorgeous._ She lifted the card again.

'This is a Mobius infinity symbol. The Mobius is cool, it has only one surface and one edge, so if you were to trace the edge you would end up where you started. And it's used in a lot of tech and math and physics. Infinity – well, you know what that means.

I thought it represented both of us. I hope you like it. Happy birthday, Izzy.'

Carefully, she held up the necklace. It really was lovely. Putting it back in its pouch for now, she tried to get everything back in the small envelope; that was easier said than done, and the big envelope slid out of her hands. In an attempt to catch it, she slipped of her branch, and suddenly she was falling.

Somehow she managed to twist in the air to hit the ground with a shout, shoulder first. The ground underneath the tree was covered in grass, but that didn't make it soft. She lay still for a moment, trying to figure out if something was broken. Everything hurt like blazes.

"Izabella?" Someone came running up, and cool hands touched her head. "Kiddo, are you okay? That was some fall."

She opened her eyes to see Lennox crouching in front of her. Oh, good. Not only did she fall out of the tree, but she had to do it in front of Mister Military himself. This was no minor form of embarrassing.

"I think I'm good," she pushed out between clenched teeth. "Going to have bruises, though."

"I'll bet." Strong hands pulled her up into a sitting position. "Can you stand? Nothing broken?"

She used his hands to pull herself up to her feet, swaying for a moment before she steadied. "Seems ok. God, I'm going to be stiff and sore."

He grinned. "That's what happens when you fall out of trees. What were you doing up there, anyway?"

"I was…" Suddenly she realized her hands were empty. She didn't have the letter or the card. And she didn't have her birthday present. "… reading a letter," she finished, mumbling, already looking around at the ground and even up at the tree.

Lennox looked around too, picked up the envelope from the ground. "This it?"

Izzy snapped it out from his hand. "That's it, yeah." A quick examination revealed that neither birthday present nor card were in the envelope, so she started looking again, a little frantic now.

"What are you looking for?" Lennox asked curiouslty.

"There was a present," Izzy explained, "in a little purple pouch. And a card."

Lennox looked up. "Hang on." Then he jumped, catching onto the lowest branch of the tree she'd been sitting on, and pulled himself up.

Izabella watched. _Wow. Mister Military has kickass upper body strength._

"Catch!" The next moment, a purple pouch dropped down from the tree and into her hands. Lennox swung out of the tree again, dropping easily to the ground. "And this one," he said, giving her the card.

"Thanks," Izzy said, smiling at him.

"No problem, kiddo." He grinned. "So what did Jack get you? Did you open it yet?"

"Yeah," she replied, blushing slightly. "It's a necklace. A Mobius infinity symbol." She closed her hand on the pouch protectively.

"That's nice," Lennox says. "Proves the kid's got style. What's the occasion? An anniversary or something?"

Izabella stared at him. "My birthday," she said, and if she did sound a bit like she was explaining it to an idiot, well, he was acting a bit like one. "It's an early birthday present."

"Oh, sorry." He grinned. "Well, that is more important than, um, a four-month anniversary? Isn't that about how far you've come?"

She frowned at him. "Are you making fun of me?"

"Making fun?" He sobered instantly. "No, that I'm really not. Why?"

"Dunno." She shrugged. "Just seems like everyone thinks we're funny, just 'cause we're young. Like it means less."

"Ah, no, Izzy," he grinned again. "We don't think you two're funny. We think you're friggin' adorable. Ain't one of us that don't have fond memories of our first serious crush."

"You still say 'crush'," Izabella pointed out. "Nobody says crush about what grown-ups feel."

"I think that's because it's different," Lennox said. "But different doesn't mean that one is worth more than the other, or is more important."

 _Huh. Mister Military the relationship coach_. She shrugged again. "Well, it feels like it is. Like everybody's expecting us to just – I don't know, grow out of it or something."

Lennox stopped and looked at her. "I guess that often happens. But not always. You want to know what I did with my first serious crush?"

She tilted her head as she looked up at him. "What?"

"I married her."

Izabella grinned despite herself. "Seriously?"

He nodded, grinning just as widely. "Seriously. I met Sarah when I was fifteen, and I've never looked at another girl. I knew she was the one right away." He reached out, ruffled her hair carefully. "I'm not going to pretend I know what either of you feel, but don't discount the idea that he feels like I did just because everyone else thinks it's just a crush. Don't let that influence how you feel, either."

Izzy looked down at her feet. She could feel a slight blush rising in her cheeks. "I don't think it's just a crush."

"Then it's not," he replied simply. "Hey, you want some help putting that gift on?"

She looked at the pouch in her hands, and handed it to him. "Yeah. Thanks."

That necklace felt very right around her neck.

* * *

Quinn leaned back to where he could place his head on Ryan's shoulder. They were sitting back to back on one of the couches in the rec room. For once, they had the room to themselves. Ryan was picking out chords on his guitar, humming the melody quietly; Quinn could feel the vibrations of his voice at his back. It felt wonderful.

"Which song is that?"

"An American Trilogy," his lover replied. "Elvis Presley."

"'s nice."

"Yeah."

If Quinn could, he would freeze this moment. He'd put it in between two frames of glass, so he could treasure it, examine it from every angle, keep it close. He'd had a lot of moments like that in the last four months – heck, more moments like that in that time than he'd ever had before. And he knew who to thank for it. He turned his head slightly and kissed Ryan's neck.

"Heh," the blond soldier grinned, still looking down at his guitar. "What was that for?"

"Just because," Quinn murmured, smiling at him.

"Ah see. An' here Ah thought you jus' liked the song."

"I do like the song. My favorite part is how it's you singing it."

Soft, smooth lips stretched in a smile, and the vibrations against Quinn's back changed as Ryan chuckled. "You're such a softie."

Quinn grinned. "Don't tell anyone. I have a rep to protect." He burrowed his nose against the soft skin of Ryan's throat.

"Ah wouldn't dream of it. Ah'll let them all think you're just a hard, fearsome warrior." Those chuckling vibrations again. "No soft side."

"I'm only soft for you," Quinn murmured against the smooth skin he was nuzzling.

Ryan stopped playing, and Quinn almost fell backwards as the other soldier bent down to put away his guitar. Then Ryan twisted on the couch until he was facing the opposite way from before. He pushed one leg down on either side of Quinn's hips, and pulled him back until Quinn was leaning against the blond soldier's chest.

Ryan nuzzled him gently, lips moving along the edge of Quinn's ear.

"Well, that's good," he whispered. "'Cause Ah'm not inclined to share."

Quinn chuckled quietly. "I love you."

The second the words were out of his mouth, he froze, tensed up. _Oh, no. That's too soon. Now he's going to run._ He didn't even dare look up at Ryan's face – instead, he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the coming rejection, bracing himself for the distance that had to come, because it's never not come before, and now it was Ryan, and he so wanted to keep Ryan, and if Ryan left him now he didn't know how he would survive.

A pair of soft, smooth lips were pressed to his temple. "You are a big softie. And Ah love you, too." Strong arms squeezed tight around his torso. "You're way tense. Was it so scary to say that?"

Quinn couldn't think. His brain had put up a big 'out of order'-sign and was busy hyperventilating in a corner of his head.

"Jared?" The lips travelled across his ear again, teeth nibbling lightly on one earlobe. "You okay?"

Quinn drew a deep, shaky breath, and twisted to lie on his stomach on Ryan's lap so he could look up at his eyes. "You really mean that?"

Confused, blue-green eyes met his. "Was that why you freaked a bit? Yeah, Ah do. Of course Ah do."

Nope. Brain still wasn't computing. Heart was getting the message though, hammering like mad. Quinn tried again. "Seriously?"

In response, Ryan reached down and pulled at Quinn until they were almost nose to nose. Blue-green eyes met clear blue. "Jared Quinn, Ah love you," Ryan said firmly. Then he grinned. "Ah don't know why you have problems believin' that, but Ah'll happily repeat it until it enters that thick skull of yours and stays there."

"You are serious," Quinn whispered. "You really are."

Ryan lifted his hands to cradle Quinn's face. Then he leaned in, kissed his forehead, eyelids, next to his nose, corner of his mouth, before pressing his lips to Quinn's softly. "Ah do. Ah love you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Quinn leaned in, hands grabbing double fistfuls of Ryan's shirt, forehead leaning against the other soldier's. For a moment, he just stayed like that, content to bask in the other's warmth, taking in the words he'd just said and the way he seemed to mean them, like no one before him had.

Ryan kissed him again, tongue running across Quinn's lips, hands still cradling his face. "You believe me yet?" Strong teeth nibbled lightly on Quinn's lower lip.

Quinn laughed, more than a little breathless. "You're making a good point."

The answering chuckle was light, teasing. "That's good. Why wouldn't you believe me, anyway?"

"Most times I've told someone I loved them, they've run the other way," Quinn admitted.

"You must have told the wrong guys," Ryan purred, lips moving up the side of Quinn's face. "Wait. How many are we talkin' here?"

Quinn grinned, leaning into Ryan's touch. "Not that many. But you know what they say, fool me once, shame on me…"

"Fool me twice, shame on you?" Ryan murmured, turning his attention to Quinn's eyelids.

"Exactly. And fool me four times – well, shame on me for even trying."

"There's no shame in tryin'. But Ah guess that's why you had such problems telling me 'bout your feelings in the first place, huh? Took it out on Mattie instead."

Quinn hung his head guiltily – as much as he could, anyway, with Ryan still holding on to his face. "Yeah. When you're told enough times that you're not wanted, you tend to believe it in the end."

"Heh." Ryan moved his ministrations to Quinn's throat, sliding down beneath him. "And here Ah was, wantin' you all along."

Quinn gasped at the small nibbles going down his throat. "Must pay better attention," he murmured.

"Or just believe me when Ah tell you," Ryan agreed, letting his tongue run down Quinn's throat, hands moving down Quinn's torso towards his pants.

"Yeah," Quinn breathed, arching into the touch. "Or that."


	35. Chapter 35

Mattie woke to the sound of alarm klaxons, the bright red light accompanying them throwing the hangar into stark black and red relief. She sat bolt upright.

"What's going on?"

Bumblebee was already up. He threw her a set of clothes, and she pulled them on hurriedly. "'Con attack," he grunted, "or at least, that's what the signal says. Let's hope it's that benign. Come on, we're wanted at the main hangar."

Mattie nodded, and held out her hands so Bee could pick her up easily. He cradled her to his chest – for once, not nuzzling at her hair as he did so – and flat out ran from the hangar.

The icy rain peltering her as she came outside soaked her to the skin almost instantly, even with Bee moving as fast as he could through the storm.

"Figure they would choose to attack in this weather."

Bee's engine rumbled under her hands. "Dumbaft Decepticons. Then again, it's perfect weather for surprise attacks. Just before dawn, too, perfect time."

"Don't talk like we've lost this already, Bee," Mattie implored him. "It's scary enough as it is."

"Sorry, angel." One finger run down her back distractedly. "I'm on the comm with Prime and the others as well, two conversations at once is tricky."

"Don't mind me, then," she said, pressing a kiss to his spark chamber. "Talk to them." _Even though I'm going to be scared out of my mind without you talking to me._ She didn't voice that thought out loud.

The main hangar was crowded – every bot on his peds were there, as well as the human soldiers. Bumblebee put Mattie down next to Viviane and Cade, and Hound soon deposited Izabella alongside them. Mattie took the younger girl's hand, and Izabella clung to it tightly.

Lennox walked up on the walkway in the centre of the large hall. Silence fell instantly.

"At approximately 0300 hours, the Cheyenne mountain complex was levelled," the colonel said loudly. "Human casualties number in the hundreds. Every artefact in there was removed by the attackers. Most have been recovered just outside the base – dropped, destroyed. Unneeded. The one artefact stored there that has not yet been recovered," he turned, looking straight at Viviane, "is the staff of Merlin."

An uneasy murmur went around the room at that. Izabella suddenly clung onto Mattie's entire arm. _That's right,_ she realized _. Most of these guys didn't know that that was where the staff was._

"We have to assume," Lennox continued, "that Quintessa is behind this. And if she has the staff, she's going to use it. We need to find her, and stop her, before she can go through with it."

From the corner of her eye, Mattie saw Viviane lean in and kiss Cade's cheek, murmuring something as she did, before turning towards Lennox. "Will," she called. "That's not all of it." She beckoned to Crosshairs, standing behind them, and he obligingly picked her up and put her on the walkway next to Lennox.

The commander turned and looked at her. "Viviane?"

Mattie could see Viviane taking a deep breath, steeling herself. She looked at Lennox, then at Optimus. "The staff stored at Cheyenne mountain was a copy," she said simply.

The silence was deafening.

Lennox blinked. "Say what?"

"We thought it would be an extra level of security," Cade explained, as Crosshairs put him too down on the walkway. "So we built a copy right before it was put in storage, and gave you the copy instead of the real one."

Lennox raised his hand, pinching at the bridge of his nose. "And you didn't tell me this before now because…?"

"That was also an extra layer of security," Viviane replied. "We thought if no one knew, then no one could tell anyone."

"Which turned out to be a good thing," Cade put in. "Since she actually found the copy."

"It was meant to buy us more time," Viviane added. "To figure out how to fight her."

"Do not try to convince me that the fact that over one hundred and thirty soldiers and civilians just died to protect a fake is a good thing!" Lennox snarled. "Damn it, Cade. You can't keep me out of the loop on things like this!"

Mattie turned, looked at Bee. He nodded and picked her up – along with Izabella, who didn't seem to want to let go. They were both deposited on the walkway.

Mattie turned to Lennox. "How did they find the complex?"

He sighed, ran a hand through his hair. "General Morshower was cycling the defense troops. Bringing more experienced soldiers in, transferring the rookies out. Somehow she must have caught on to it."

"So she has a way to track your troop movement," Drift said.

"Or a way to trace your radio communication," Bumblebee added.

"Both are possible," Lennox conceded. "But we knew that. That's why we were going about it carefully."

Mattie turned to Viviane. "Where is the real staff?"

The older woman hesitated.

Lennox turned to her. "We need to know, Viviane. Or we can't defend it."

Viviane sighed. "I suppose you're right. All right, then. The staff," she drew a deep breath, "is onboard the HMS _Alliance_."

"WHAT?" Lennox's enraged scream shot through several octaves, but it was almost drowned out by the furious rumbling of the Prime's engine.

"I see," Optimus growled. "Viviane, where is the _Alliance_?"

Another deep breath. "Here."

"It's here?" Lennox demanded. _Crap, he sounds furious. This must be bad._ "Viviane, the _Alliance_ doesn't have shielding, and it's completely trackable!"

"It's in deep water," Cade protested. "The energy from the staff isn't detectable."

"You hope," Lennox growled. "And even if it isn't, the sub in itself can be tracked."

"The staff energy may not have been detectable up until now," Optimus agreed. "But now that Quintessa has a false staff in her possession, she will intensify her search for the real one. And she will not be stopped."

Crosshairs snickered. "She's going to be really pissed off when she realizes it's fake."

"How long has it been here?" Lennox asked, barely controlled fury in his voice.

"As long as we have," Viviane replied. "The _Alliance_ follows me around, wherever I travel. She can always be found in the nearest deep water."

Mattie hadn't thought Lennox could get angrier. Apparently, she had been wrong. But instead of screaming louder, his voice descended into icy fury. "So not only is it here now, but it was outside the West Coast compound when you were there, and it's been lying just off the coast of England all summer."

"Yes." Viviane nodded. "In our defense, it seemed like the most sound plan."

"So the fact that the staff signal has been moving around alongside the signals from Frenzy, signals that the Decepticons have been tracking, just seemed like a good idea at the time," Lennox growled. "And while I've been trying to figure out how the hell they've been tracking us, there's been another signal to trace alongside our own the entire time!?"

"Yes," Viviane cut back, finally furious. "And still she hasn't found it, so the signal can't be very strong, can it? And in our defense, you didn't tell us about the Frenzy signals until we came here either!"

"Quarrelling solves nothing," Optimus interjected. "We need to make a new plan." He paused. "She knows someone's thwarting her, now. And she doesn't take kindly to that."

"How long before she finds us?" Izabella asked tremulously.

"She may not," Viviane said, reaching out and squeezing her hand.

"No, she will," Lennox said, looking at them. Izabella flinched. "I'm sorry if I'm scaring you, kiddo, but let's not kid ourselves here. She will find us. It's simply a question of time."

"How will she find us?" Mattie whispered. She wasn't sure if her voice carried, but apparently Lennox and the others heard her.

"If she can track troop movements and radio signals, it's not impossible. She can trace the military plane routes across the Indian Ocean," Lennox said.

"It'll take her forever, though," Cade replied. "Because let's agree, she doesn't know we're here. So she can't just trace the plane routes across the Indian Ocean, she has to trace _all_ the plane routes and troop movements across the globe. And then try to find which one leads to us. She's looking for a needle in a haystack."

"That is such a strange idiom," Optimus mused. "One would merely use a strong magnet. But yes, it's true. Unless there is something else pulling her here, she will be searching for a while."

Mattie had been thinking while the others argued. There was something they were missing, something Lennox had said, and something Viviane had said… But she couldn't get a grasp on it, couldn't connect the dots.

"We'll need to set up a defensive plan," Lennox said, looking up at Optimus. "No matter how she finds us, she will find us at some point, we're her next target. We need to be prepared for that."

Suddenly, it hit her. _Oh no. Oh, no_. "Viviane," Mattie asked, her voice tremolous. "How did the _Alliance_ follow you? How does it know where you are?"

Viviane stared at her, eyes widening. She lifted her arm up and pointed at a thin bracelet around her wrist. "She follows this one," Viviane breathed quietly. "It's another one of Tesla's coils, he called it a Theta cord. It resonates with another one just like it. The _Alliance_ follows to where the resonance is strongest."

Mattie nodded, turned to Lennox. "How is the _Alliance_ trackable?"

He chuckled mirthlessly, ran a hand through his hair. "With the kind of tech Quintessa possesses? Any way you like. Heat signature, radio waves, movement trackers, radar, sonar, hydrophonics, MAD… The _Alliance_ 's tech is outdated. Quintessa's is not."

"I see," Mattie said quietly. "So what you're saying is that if she figures out that she should track the Alliance, she can."

Lennox gave her a curt nod.

"What are you thinking, Mattie?" Optimus asked.

Mattie drew a deep breath. "First. The Decepticons tracked the Frenzy signals, and hit us several times using them. They know the last knight is with you, Optimus – Skywarp escaped to report that." She held up a finger, then raised a second one. "Then. There's been another set of signals, the staff signals, alongside the Frenzy signals. Too deep to track most of the time but certainly noticeable if you know what you're looking for. That one has been based around England. But during the first attack, it was outside the West Coast compound. Third." Another finger went up. "There's been a trackable submarine moving around with those signals."

"Oh, crap," Lennox said, staring at her.

"Theta cord," Optimus asked intently. "As in theta waves?"

"I think so," Viviane nodded, frowning. "Though they are weak in humans, this one apparently uses a different frequency."

"Yes," Optimus said. "When I know what to scan for, I can detect it."

"As can I," Bumblebee said. "Though it's not a strong signal. I doubt it can be picked up from a distance."

"That's four," Mattie breathed. "Frenzy signals, staff energy signature, trackable submarine, theta waves. All leading to us, all being put out at the same time. She just needs to notice them." She smiled grimly, shaking her head. "All she has to do is connect the dots. And if I can do it, she most definitely can."

Bumblebee stared at her, optics wide. "I think you just found her magnet, angel."

As if on cue, the klaxons sounded again.

"Let's hope you didn't just kill us all," Lennox snarled at Cade and Viviane. Then he took off.

Viviane stared at Cade. She was still pale. "What did we do?" she whispered.

"What we could," Cade said firmly, pulling her into an embrace. "We forgot a few factors, true. But if we hadn't made a copy, she would have had the real staff now."

"What's going on now?" Mattie whispered, knowing Bumblebee would hear her.

"Those are the proximity alarms," came the reply. He picked her up and cradled her close, before following Lennox at a brisk pace – not quite running, but not far from it either. "It means that we have company."

Once outside the building, Bee took a hard left turn, transforming with her in his arms. Once she was safely – though dripping wet and borderline terrified – in the driver's seat, he took off again, much faster than anyone would recommend in such weather.

"Where are we going?" Mattie asked. In the rear view mirror, she could see Hound following on their trail.

"I'm putting/you/somewhere safe," Bee said. He took another hard turn before sliding to a sudden stop, opening the door for her. "Get in there."

She climbed out of his alt mode and turned to see where he wanted her to go.

It was a bunker. Low-slung, fading into the ground, a solid-built concrete structure with heavy iron doors, meant to withstand anything the world could throw at it.

Mattie turned to Bumblebee. "No."

He transformed, looking down at her. "No?"

"No!"

"But Mattie, you need to go inside! You'll be safe here."

"You think you can put me in there all by myself, while you and the others are fighting off whatever threat there is this time? That's not going to happen!" she growled.

"But-"

"No!" she cut him off. "I've had enough of being placed in a hole somewhere, not knowing what's going on with you, just waiting for the 'cons to find me, not knowing if I'm even going to be able to come out to find you or if the world's ended while I was in there! I'm not going to let you hide me away again, like hell! I'm going to be right where you are!"

"Mattie-"

"Like HELL!" she shouted shrilly. "You are NOT leaving me this time, Bumblebee!"

He dropped to his knees in front of her, deflating somehow.

"Angel…" His voice was quiet, subdued. "I just need to know that you're safe." He held out his arms towards her imploringly, blue optics begging her to see sense. "Please."

Without actually making a conscious decision to move, she was back in his arms. "Bee," she whimpered, "did it never occur to you that I need that too? I can't be locked away somewhere again not knowing what's happening to you, I just can't. If you're going to put me somewhere, at least put me somewhere where I can see you."

Hound walked up next to them, Izabella cradled in his arms. "Bee, this is the only safe place for them."

Izabella twisted in Hound's grip and kicked him. "You'll need to block the entrance if you want us to stay in there! We're not going willingly."

Hound ignored her. "Bumblebee."

Bumblebee didn't reply; he just pulled Mattie close, close enough that she couldn't move a muscle even if she'd tried, and her head was resting against the armor over his spark chamber. The hum of his spark was soothing.

Without a word, Bumblebee stood up and started walking back the way they'd come.

Hound followed. "Bumblebee…"

"She's right," Bee replied. "She's my mate, she should be where I am. Besides, if what's coming is what I think it is, I'd rather have her near me." His voice lowered. "And if it is who I think it is, it won't matter. I'd much rather have her near me in a place where she's aware of what's happening, than to have her emerge back out into a world where Quintessa's won and she's all alone here." His arms pulled Mattie even tighter, and she twisted to plant a kiss on his chest armor.

"So where are we going to put them?" Hound asked. Mattie twisted a bit to see that Izabella was grinning in triumph on her perch against Hound's chest.

"With Lennox, Viviane and Cade, I guess," Bee said. "Would that be okay, Mattie?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Maybe I can even be useful, instead of cowering in a corner."

"I don't want you in danger," he said, squeezing her impossibly tight. "I need you to stay with them and be safe."

"We're always in danger," she replied. "But don't worry about me." She grinned through her terror and pressed another kiss to his chest. "I'll be fine as long as I can see you."

* * *

Mattie had never been in the central control room before, there had never been any reason for her to go in there. Now, standing against the back wall with Izabella and trying to stay out of everyone's way, she felt out of place more than ever.

Lennox was standing at a console with several instruments on it, but he was staring grimly out the window. The rain was still falling, sheets of it covering the window and lessening the visibility. The instruments in front of Lennox were covered in blips and lines, but none of it made any sense to Mattie.

Viviane walked slowly over to her. "We're waiting," the older woman murmured quietly. "Apparently, there's a ship approaching, but they haven't been able to determine if it's friendly or not, or even if it's the only one."

"Bumblebee, register on scan yet?" Lennox asked tersely.

 _"_ _Negative, she's still too far out,"_ came the reply from the console.

"Sound off positions, Hadley." Lennox turned to his second.

"Scattorshot covers the rise, Crosshairs has sniper's position, Drift, Hot Rod and Hound are positioned with the soldiers, Bumblebee is with Prime," the other man rattled off promptly. "Sabot rounds, explosives and incendiaries are at the ready."

"Good. Cade?"

 _"_ _In position, waiting for the word,"_ the console said. Lennox nodded.

Mattie hadn't realized that Cade wasn't with them until right then. She leaned over to Viviane. "Where's Cade?"

"On the other side of the island, preparing to raise the _Alliance_ and retrieve the real staff when Lennox orders it," the older woman whispered back. "We can't leave it down there for her to just retrieve. But we need her committed here first, so she doesn't just whip around the island and get it without opposition."

Mattie nodded. It made sense.

 _"_ _Incoming Decepticon-signal,"_ the radio crackled abruptly.

"The ship?" Lennox replied, tense.

 _"_ _Negative, the air,"_ Bumblebee replied. Then, a moment later, _"It's Skywarp. I wondered when he would reappear."_

"Scattorshot, focus on Skywarp, but don't fire first," Lennox ordered. "Crosshairs, keep targeting the ship."

_"_ _Roger that."_

In the tense silence that followed, Mattie could hear the sound of jet engines overhead. _God, I wish I had a direct comm line to Bumblebee right now._ She took hold of Viviane's hand, placing her other arm around Izzy's shoulders.

 _"_ _Ship's in range,"_ Bumblebee's voice came over the console. _"Reading several Decepticon-signals, at least three. Possible Infernocons, too."_ He paused. _"No humans, but something's – weird. There are signals I don't recognize."_

 _"_ _Megatron?"_ That was Prime's voice.

_"_ _Unknown."_

"We have to assume it's her," Lennox said. "How far out is she?"

"ETA in approximately five minutes," Hadley replied, hands moving over his console. "She's still travelling at full speed, she'll need to slow down soon."

"Okay. Cade, you're a go."

_"_ _Roger that."_

"Status on Skywarp?"

 _"_ _Going back and forth like a boomerang,"_ was the cheerful reply – Scattorshot, Mattie thought it had to be. _"Aligning nicely with my sights, but not stopping to chat."_

 _"_ _Confirmed signals – Decepticon Brawl,"_ Bumblebee said. _"Decepticon Wildrider. Decepticon… Megatron. Crap."_

"Doesn't change anything, people," Lennox said firmly. "Faced him before, beat him before, killed him before."

A wave of chatter broke out, about how 'fragged' Megatron had gotten in the past, or how certain Autobots had beaten certain Decepticons – the names made no impact on Mattie, and she didn't recognize them. But it was pleasant, for a handful of seconds, to let the banter flow around her and alleviate the severity of the situation.

"All right, clear the comms," Lennox chuckled after a few moments. "Status?"

_"_ _Skywarp is acting like a dick, but he's done nothing so far."_

_"_ _Detect a total of seven infernocons, on top of already identified Decepticons."_

_"_ _Ship's still in sights."_

"Good. Cade?"

_"_ _Alliance is rising, needs a few more minutes."_

"You won't have them," Hadley said suddenly, eyeing his console. "She's not slowing down. ETA in one minute, and she's coming in hard."

"Fall back from the docks!" Lennox commanded. "Prepare for impact!"

"She'll plow through the docks and onto the beach at this speed," Hadley grunted. He shot Lennox a sideways glance. "Pre-emptive attack?"

Lennox looked at his console, then nodded. "We can't let them get safely to shore. Go for incendiary or explosive rounds, we won't be able to stop her but we will slow her down."

 _"_ _Roger that,"_ Crosshairs said.

 _"_ _Sir, additional signatures are human,"_ Bumblebee interjected. _"At least seventeen of them. But they're – strange."_

"We're fighting for the survival of the planet here," Lennox replied. "The order stands."

 _"_ _Plus, zey're on a boat wiz Megatron_ ," Hot Rod said, his unwanted accent clear even over the comms. _"I'm not willing to give zem zat much benefit of ze doubt."_

"Clear comms," Lennox said. "Crosshairs, fire at will."

A moment later, the bright light of an explosion was visible through the windows.

 _"_ _Hit,"_ Crosshairs said. _"Slowing her, but not stopping her."_

"Again."

Another explosion.

 _"_ _Incoming!"_ That was Scattorshot. _"Skywarp's firing on Crosshairs' position!"_

_"_ _I'm moving now."_

"Scattorshot, fire at will! Status on the ship?"

"Slowing, but still coming," Hadley replied.

 _"_ _All signatures still active,"_ Bumblebee said.

 _"_ _Got her again,"_ Crosshairs said. _"Ha! Broke her in half."_

 _"_ _Skywarp's coming in for another run,"_ Scattorshot said. _"Crap – brace for impact at command!"_

Viviane pulled Mattie and Izabella down to the floor, and Mattie curled into a ball, arms around her head. She had time to see Lennox and Hadley dive for cover before the command center exploded.


	36. Chapter 36

When Mattie looked up, it seemed like the world was on fire. Someone was pulling on her arm.

"Mattie? Come on, kiddo, you need to move."

"Lennox?" She tried to focus through the smoke, but it was difficult.

"Yeah, right here, come on sweetheart, you need to move."

Mattie turned, realized she was alone against the wall as she let Lennox pull her to her feet. "Viviane and Izzy?"

"Safe and good outside, only you left now. Come on." He pulled her arm over her shoulder and supported her weight, leading her against the door.

It was on the only wall of the building that was still standing.

Outside was less chaos than she had expected. Skywarp had apparently only taken down the command center, the other buildings were still whole.

Lennox led her to where Viviane and Izabella were waiting, then raised his hand to his ear.

"Roger that. Yeah, we're fine. ETA? Good."

He turned back to Mattie and the others. "Listen." He looked at each of them in turn. "None of you are soldiers, but we're mid-battle now and we can't spare anyone to mind you. Find a place to hide."

"I don't want to hide," Izabella said stubbornly. "I want to help."

"Then help by staying out of the way," Lennox said firmly.

 _She's going to argue, I know she is. But she's just a kid, this is no place for her_. Mattie turned to Izabella. "Izzy, the workshop," she said. "You might be needed there."

"That's a good idea," Viviane said. "I'll take her there, then come back. I'm waiting for Cade."

Lennox looked at her for a moment, then inclined his head. "Descendant of Merlin. Mattie?"

She looked up at the commander. "Where are the Dinobots?"

"They're not out yet. We couldn't spare anyone to mind them."

"Well, let me mind them."

He frowned at her. "That will put you in the middle of battle."

"Yes. But it will bring in the Dinobots. And we will need them." She reached out, placed a hand on his arm. "Please let me. You know I can do this."

He looked at her for a moment, then sighed. "See Hadley first, have him get you some protective gear." She nodded, and he shook his head. "I'm going to regret this." He lifted his hand to his ear again. "Bringing the Dinobots out shortly. Status?"

Mattie realized that she missed hearing the other side of the talk, like she had in the command center. _I'd better ask Hadley to get me a comm too._

"Roger that. Fire at will, Crosshairs, as soon as they emerge. Heimling, take your squad, cover Scattorshot." Lennox looked up, waved them off. "Go, all of you. Shit's hitting the fan in a moment."

Mattie turned and ran.

* * *

The comm was crackling in her ear as she pushed open the hangar door. It was hard getting used to – she kept finding her attention had shifted from what she was doing to what she was hearing, especially when Bee was speaking.

_Knock it off. This is dangerous, you can't afford distractions._

The Dinobots were agitated, constantly moving and rumbling. She pulled the door almost closed behind her – almost, so that Grimlock could get it open again once she was seated on Charger's back.

If she could even get on him. Her once horse-sized Dinobot was now elephant-sized.

"Hey, guys," she said softly. Hellion stopped, and roared at her. She ignored him, looking instead at Grimlock. "You guys know what's going on, right?"

The biggest Dinobot nodded – which looked strange, in his dinosaur alt mode.

"The Autobots are going to need your help," she continued. "It's a saving-the-world kind of deal. Think you guys can do that again?"

Grimlock snorted. _He may not speak in this form, but he sure isn't hard to understand._

Charger lowered his head and nuzzled at her. "Hey, monkey. Want to ride into battle together?" His back was impossibly high above her. "If I can get on you, that is. I guess I'll have to see if I can find a ladde –eep!"

Raptor squawked at her, his claws digging into her shoulder without penetrating the flesh – or even the body armor, she realized. Not that that made it any more comfortable to dangle ten feet off the ground from the claws of a Dinobot who she was fairly certain didn't really care if she would be injured or not. The winds from the powerful wing strokes were buffeting her, and they were climbing higher – until Raptor deposited her on the top of Charger's back.

 _Well, what do you know. He's helpful_. "Thanks, Raptor!"

She scooted forward until she was seated in the slight hollow just in front of Charger's front legs, nestling her feet into familiar crevices that yawned wider now than they had last time she sat up there. "Should have planned for this, monkey, then I would have made a harness of sorts to hold on to," she said lightly, recognizing the need to postpone the actual joining of the battle for as long as she could. "Well, nothing for it now. I'll just have to hold on. Hellion, will you take the spearhead? That means you go in front, I think," she added, not quite helpfully. The younger Dinobot just stared at her and growled. But he did walk to the door, pushing it open, forcing his way through. Raptor followed him, disappearing into the sky, and then Charger snuck past Grimlock so that the largest Dinobot was the last one out.

Mattie had thought the situation had looked bad before, but now it looked worse.

Skywarp was still making his strafing runs, his black and purple paint job lit garishly from below by the light of the burning command building. Someone was firing at him from the south side of the docks - _that has to be Scattorshot_ – but the Decepticon was far too agile to be hit, rolling and twisting whenever a shot came his way. The docks themselves were burning, a derelict freighter of sorts laying in pieces in front of it, sharp metal edges and dull, black-burned shrapnel catching the firelight. And in front of the ship stood a tall, imposing figure, flanked by several smaller ones.

Mattie paid attention to the crackle in her ear again.

 _"_ _\- keep Megatron at bay,"_ Lennox said. _"Prime?"_

 _"_ _I can,"_ Optimus's deep rumble replied. _"For a while, at least."_

 _"_ _I'm ten minutes out,"_ Cade said.

_"_ _Good. Any sign of her?"_

_"_ _She hasn't emerged from the ship yet,"_ Drift replied. _"Though I have to admit she could hide among these other humans and we wouldn't know."_

 _"_ _The humans are to be considered hostile,"_ Lennox said.

 _"_ _She will make an entrance, anyway_ ," Optimus said. _"She will not just sneak in. We will know her when she comes."_

Mattie looked up, noticing Raptor spiralling higher and higher in the sky. She lifted a hand to her ear. "Ware, everyone, Raptor's airborne."

 _"_ _Mattie?"_ Bumblebee sounded shocked. _"What are you doing?"_

"Hey, Bee. I'm with the Dinobot brigade."

 _"_ _My orders,"_ Lennox said. _"Mattie, stay where you are until you're told otherwise, okay? We need the Dinobots in case they break through."_

"Yes, sir."

 _"_ _Actually, we could do with one of them down here,"_ Hound said. _"'Coz, you know, Wildrider and Brawl. We can take them, but the soldiers can't, and I'd rather not leave that much collateral."_

_"_ _Okay. Pull the soldiers back. Mattie, send in Hellion."_

"Roger that." Despite the situation, Mattie grinned to herself. _Who'd have thought I'd ever got to use that phrase without it being a joke?_ She turned, seeing Hellion almost prancing behind her. "Go have some fun with them, big boy," she grinned. "But don't trample our soldiers, 'kay?"

The Dinobot roared, and ran down to the beach, leaping over the ranks of soldiers.

"Hellion incoming," she confirmed over the radio.

For a little while, the battle seemed to be going their way. Hellion had barrelled straight into Wildrider's side, and left the other Autobots free to take on Brawl and the Infernocons. Prime was going hand to hand with Megatron, giant swords clashing, with Bumblebee and Crosshairs shooting down targets where they presented themselves. Raptor was leading Skywarp on a merry chase through the sky, in ever-tightening spirals, barrel rolls and twists – the Dinobot was smaller and more agile, making up for the Decepticon's greater speed. Skywarp had abandoned his strafing runs, and Scattorshot was free to take potshots at him whenever the opportunity presented itself, which it did often enough. Even the rain stopped.

Mattie found herself becoming cautiously optimistic.

But then, things started to go wrong.

Raptor crashed to the ground, taking with him most of what was left of the command building. Skywarp followed, landing easily, guns powering up.

"You little menace," he snarled. "I've just about had enough of you. I'm going to turn you into a practice dummy. For Megatron's fusion cannon!"

Mattie twisted, looking from Skywarp to the battle below. _This has to qualify as breaking through, right? He's behind them all!_

"Grimlock! Take down Skywarp, and then see if you can get Raptor to the workshop!"

The giant Dinobot roared, then ran and threw himself at the black and purple mech from behind. He hit him between the wings, claws scraping down the Decepticon's appendages, and Skywarp let out a howl of rage. And shot the place where Raptor had landed dead-on.

Mattie flinched and turned aside, as she heard a new level of fury coming from the Dinobot leader, and Charger started trembling under her. "Easy, boy," she murmured, putting a hand on his neck. "We have a job to do yet."

The trembling didn't stop, though.

From the beach, she heard a matching roar as Hellion became aware of what had happened. She looked down to see him rip Wildrider's arm clear off, throwing it into the sea. But then Megatron picked Hellion up and threw him straight across the beach, until he smacked into what was left of the docks and didn't get back up.

Charger roared.

 _But… Prime was fighting Megatron_. Mattie's eyes searched frantically for the large, blue and red form, only to find him being dragged backwards by his own Autobots, leaking blue liquid from a deep laceration in his thigh.

The comms were full of trouble.

 _"_ _\- got me pinned!"_ Scattorshot said.

 _"_ _Can't get to you ye_ t," Hot Rod grunted. _"Need to get Prime out of ze way."_

 _"_ _These guys just – won't stay – dow_ n!" That was Quinn, and Mattie's heart skipped a beat. Of course her friends were in the thick of it, of course they were – but there was a difference between knowing they were soldiers and realizing that they were fighting for their lives.

 _"_ _What did she do to these blasted people? I'm shooting them, but they won't die!"_ Johnson was cursing.

 _"_ _Infernocons,"_ Drift grunted. _"They're human Infernocons. Cut them into pieces."_

 _"_ _With what?"_ Quinn snarled. _"My god-damned gun?"_

 _"_ _Drift, you need to take the humans out,"_ Lennox commanded, _"we're not having any luck."_

 _"_ _Have to get Optimus clear first,"_ the samurai replied.

 _We're needed,_ Mattie realized. "Lennox, Charger and me can help with Optimus."

 _"_ _No!"_ Bumblebee growled. _"Stay out of it, Mattie!"_

 _"_ _Get down there, Mattie,"_ Lennox said. _"When they get there, Drift, assist Hadley's squad with those damned … Infernids."_

 _"_ _Ooh, good term,"_ Viviane chimed in. _"Actually, blowing them up probably works, too. If you can manage to without blowing up – well – the rest of us."_

Mattie grinned mirthlessly. Trust Viviane to not be affected by the fact that things were going to pieces. That woman was seriously hard to knock off balance. She leaned forward on Charger's neck.

"Go, monkey. Go to Optimus."

Charger sped up, weaving past the pile of writhing metal that was Skywarp and Grimlock – hard to tell who was winning that one – speeding across the sand until they got to Optimus's side. Mattie had a brief glimpse of Bumblebee staring at her as they darted past, rifle to his shoulder and covered in soot and grime. _Sorry, Bee. I have to help, too._

"Here, Mattie," Hot Rod said, passing her a chain. "Fasten zat across his shoulders somehow."

Mattie stared at the heavy metal in his hand. Each link was the size of both her hands and as thick as her wrist. "Um. Much as I try to be of assistance, you know I can't lift that, right?" She wedged her feet tighter into Charger's side and flexed her arms. "Puny human."

Hot Rod grinned and fastened the chain for her. "Ah, zat is true. Here, I've got it."

"Thanks. How's Optimus?"

"I'm fine," Prime replied. "I've cut off Energon supply to the damaged lines, but he got one of my main motor relays, so I can't walk."

"Get Grimlock to carry you to ze workshop," Hot Rod suggested. "Izzy can fix zat, no problem."

"'Lock was wrist-deep in Skywarp when I left," Mattie said, shaking her head. "We can't call him away from that fight. Okay, Charger, move."

 _"_ _That's more like it!"_ Quinn crowed in her ear. _"Now they're not getting back up!"_

 _"_ _The Infernids are down,"_ Drift said.

 _That was fast._ Mattie looked at Hot Rod, who grinned at her. "Two big swords, seventeen soft, small humans. No contest, really."

They pulled Optimus to relative safety behind one of the barracks. "Get the chain off Optimus," Mattie told Hot Rod. "I'm going to go see if I can get Raptor or Hellion out of there."

"Good luck," he called, turning and running back into the battle.

"Optimus, you good here?"

"Yes, Mattie, thank you." The Autobot leader grinned. "I have my rifle. Go save someone else."

Mattie smiled, then leaned forward on Charger's neck again as he spun around and headed back to the command center to get the little pteranodon.

She couldn't even get close. Grimlock was still tearing pieces out of Skywarp, and the jet had landed straight across the path she had to take – and with that feral look in the Dinobot leader's eye, she didn't dare get in front of him.

"Let's get Hellion out of the water," she said grimly. "Hopefully we can get to him."

 _"_ _Wildrider's down,"_ Hound said. _"Good shot, Crosshairs."_

_"_ _Of course. Now move, you're blocking my sight to Megatron."_

_"_ _Can't, I'm afraid,"_ was the cheerful reply. _"I'm buried in Infernocons. Let me get rid of them, huh?"_

Mattie lifted her hand to her ear. "Lennox, I'm going to try and get Hellion, okay?"

 _"_ _Roger that, Mattie, you're a go,"_ the commander replied. _"Bumblebee, Crosshairs, watch her back."_

_"_ _Absolutely."_

_"_ _Cade, your ETA?"_

_"_ _I'm almost there – twenty seconds."_

Charger raced towards the beach, weaving between the soldiers. Mattie saw Ryan, repeatedly aiming and firing, Quinn crouching next to him with one hand on his shoulder, murmuring in his ear. She spotted Hadley, calmly going from soldier to soldier, and Lennox, talking rapidly with Viviane, gesticulating and frowning while she was nodding. They passed Drift, ankle-deep in body parts that Mattie refused to look too closely at, laying into tall, horrid-looking dark 'cons with his swords. Hound was doing the same next to him, shooting anything that moved.

"Hound, I'm going to pass behind the 'cons now, don't shoot me!"

 _"_ _You got it, Mattie."_ He grinned at her, raised a finger to his face in a mock salute.

She could see Hellion now, laying still where Megatron had thrown him. She couldn't tell if he was alive or not.

When she got to the beach, time stopped.

Silence fell around her. Even the comm chatter died off – not gradually, but instantly, cutting off mid-word. To her left, Megatron came running, and then dropped to his knees on the sand, bowing his head.

_Well, this can't be good._

A figure came walking across the beach in front of her. The figure was slight, enveloped in a red shawl, piercing lilac eyes taking in the scene in front of her.

_Quintessa. It has to be. And I'm caught between her and Megatron, right smack in everyone's line of fire._

"Charger, go," Mattie whispered. "Turn and run, monkey."

The Dinobot didn't listen to her. He stood frozen. Briefly, she contemplated letting herself drop to the ground – but Charger was tall enough that she could seriously mess up her legs if she didn't land right. She didn't dare risk it.

The figure came close enough that Mattie could see the frayed edges of her shawl and the faint tattoo-like markings across her forehead. She could see the delicate, cruel curve to her lips as she opened her mouth to speak.

"You have thwarted me," Quintessa said in a low, smooth voice. "This –" she raised a hand, and Mattie noticed that she was carrying a metal staff of some kind, "- is a construct."

Mattie could hear the words twofold, both through the comm channel and directly. _She's hijacked the comm system._

"Tell me, human…" Quintessa looked up at Mattie. "… where is the descendant of Merlin?"

Mattie clenched her jaw shut.

Quintessa _tsk_ 'ed, her delicate eyebrows frowning. "You will tell me, you know. I will make you. Or my… pet – "a hand waved lazily, indicating Megatron "- will make you. Regardless, she will be found. Make it easier for yourself." She started walking again, closing the distance between herself and Charger, moving gracefully and sinuously. "To borrow a phrase from your own microbial culture… Resistance is futile." She looked up at Charger. "Down."

The Dinobot collapsed, throwing Mattie to the ground. She landed awkwardly, one leg crunching under her, the pain in the ankle enough to blacken her vision for a moment and making her cry out.

"Oh dear. You organics are so fragile." Quintessa sounded almost bored. "Tell me." Each word was accentuated by another stab of pain. "Where… is… the descendant… of Merlin?"

_How the hell is she doing that? She's not even touching me!_

"No," Mattie managed to grind out. "Never – tell you."

"Shame," Quintessa sighed. She walked closer, let one finger trace delicately across Mattie's cheekbone. "Goodbye, organic."

Mattie's head exploded with pain, and the world went black.


	37. Chapter 37

Bumblebee couldn't do anything but watch as his mate crumpled to the ground at Quintessa's feet. She was completely still, only twitching slightly every few seconds.

He had never been more spark-rattlingly terrified in his entire existence. He was frozen stiff, couldn't move a fibre – and Mattie was laying there, trembling, possibly dying, without him being able to help her.

It was agony.

Lennox was cursing eloquently and continuously next to him, trying to get the comm system back up. But all they could hear was Quintessa.

_She's blocking us._

"This one is worthless," the monotone voice said. "And this…" the fake staff was lifted into the air, then disintegrated, a billion tiny fragments of metal drizzling to the ground. Bumblebee could see the metal pieces landing in Mattie's dark curls, little pieces of starlight caught in her hair. "… is also worthless," Quintessa continued.

"Mistress, let me take them apart for information," Megatron said, in a tone of voice that Bumblebee had never heard from the Decepticon leader before. He sounded – worshipful.

"No, pet," Quintessa answered absently. "If you take them apart, they are broken. And that is not your place. You are here as… what is the organic term? Hired muscle."

"Yes, mistress."

Quintessa walked silently past Mattie's prone form, past the Dinobot, until she came up against the first soldiers standing at the beach. Quinn had his gun aimed at her, and she paused and looked at him.

"So much courage. So… wasteful."

Quinn crumbled. Ryan collapsed over him, calling his name frantically.

"Staff-wielder!" Quintessa called. "You have something that's mine!"

"There's nothing for you here, Quintessa," Lennox called. "Get out of here."

Megatron laughed at that. "Really? You're ordering her out? You. You're ordering her out. That's hilarious."

"Quiet, pet," Quintessa frowned. The laughter cut off instantly. "You can make it easier on yourself, you know. I can go through these organics if I must."

"Can you target her?" Lennox murmured.

"No, my targeting sensor's not functioning, it refuses to recognize her," Bumblebee replied quietly. "She's barely showing up on my scans."

"What about Megatron?"

Bee pulled his gaze away from Mattie with difficulty and looked at the Decepticon leader, considering. "I can hit him, but I can't harm him much with this rifle. His plating's too thick."

"Damn," Lennox swore. "We have nothing to bear on her and no comms. Any suggestions?"

Quintessa was walking up the beach towards them, violet eyes shining. "So many willing to die," she mused. "Must more organics die for you, staff-wielder?" Another soldier dropped, and then another.

"Stop that, Quintessa," Cade called. "You're not welcome here." He walked down the beach towards her, unarmed, the medallion of the knights of Iacon adorning his upper arm.

Quintessa laughed, a high, trilling sound that set Bumblebee's plating on edge. "Not welcome? Organic, you are the ones who are nestling indiscreetly on the surface plating of a vengeful god!"

"And so they shall stay," a deep voice sounded, followed immediately by the form of Optimus Prime himself. He was leaning heavily on Grimlock, Izabella walking behind them in their shadow. "This is their world, old one. Leave it be."

Megatron laughed again, a cold, foul sound. "Still haven't learned to accept defeat, I see."

"Neither of us die easily, Megatron," Optimus replied. "And neither of us give up."

"Give up or not, it makes no difference in the end," Quintessa said, starting to sound annoyed now. "You will give me my staff, and its wielder. She cannot hide from my servants."

Cade walked up to her, slowly. She eyed him, a look of disdain on her face.

As he stopped in front of her, he casually backhanded her across the face. The clap of hand to cheek reverberated between the buildings.

"No," Cade said, sounding as disdainful as she. "We will not."

"What was that about?" Bumblebee stared as Quintessa reeled backwards, both hands raised to her face. "She's going to kill him!"

"She might," Lennox replied quietly, sounding almost gleeful, "but he did what he meant to. He showed us how to _hurt_ her."

And in a flash, Bumblebee understood. "She's not shielded, not plated. She's _human_."

Down on the beach, it was clear that Cade's demonstration had been understood by some of the others as well. As Quintessa whirled to face Cade, blood streaming in a thin line from the corner of her mouth, Hadley rose up behind her and shot her in the back point blank.

Quintessa screeched and dropped to her knees. The sound was piercing – Bumblebee saw more than one soldier clap his hands over his ears, and Grimlock was flinching. Bumblebee's audial sensors were almost burned out, and he shut them down quickly. The sudden ringing silence was deafening.

Quintessa was still on the ground, arms thrown out to the side, face lifted towards the sky and mouth wide in a scream he couldn't hear. He could see Hadley lifting his gun for a second shot, to the head this time.

_Maybe we can actually win this._

But then Quintessa stopped screaming, her eyes flashed violet, and every human on the beach dropped like a strutless heap.

Bumblebee looked down at Lennox's still form, relieved to see he was still breathing. Cautiously, he brought his audial sensors back online.

"Pit!" Crosshairs swore, bringing his gun around, trying to avoid stepping on any of the prone humans. "She put them all down!"

Quintessa was swaying from side to side, hands pressed to her front. She was trying to get back to her feet.

*Yes, but zat weakened her,* Hot Rod smirked. *We have comms again, my friends.*

*Are the humans dead?*

*Negative, Scattorshot,* Prime replied, gently picking up Izabella's prone form. *She knocked them out cold, but they seem to be unhurt.*

Their enemy had pushed herself back to her feet. Megatron was watching impassively. "Where," Quintessa snarled, "is the staff-wielder? Where is the descendant of Merlin? Find her!"

Bumblebee couldn't keep still any longer. He stood, taking off at a run towards his mate on the beach.

Quintessa looked at him. "No."

His legs seized, and he dropped to his knee joints in front of her.

She tilted her head. "You killed me once. Or you thought you did. You owe me for that, young one. You will tell me where my staff is kept."

"I will do no such thing," Bumblebee grunted. "If Mattie's not all right, I'm going to destroy you."

"Who? Oh, the human." Quintessa tsk'ed. "There must be something defective in your programming. Maybe it's an infection passed on by the so-called Prime. You were never supposed to care about organics." Then she shook her head. "But that is of no consequence now. Tell me, sparkling. Tell me where my staff is."

Bumblebee just shook his head again.

"Tell me," Quintessa reiterated. "Or her life is ended. Mattie, was it?"

She turned to the prone form on the beach, and Mattie's body suddenly rose. He nearly called out to her, before realizing with horror that her movements were not her own – Quintessa was directing her like a puppet. Mattie's arms and legs were moving out of synch, disjointed, a grotesque mimicry of the liquid grace that was usually present in her movement, and her head was dangling atop her neck, utterly lacking support.

*Evil pit-spawned glitch,* someone hissed in his comm link. He was too preoccupied to recognize the voice. *Keep her occupied, Bee, the humans are reviving.*

*Let's hope poor Mattie can hang in zere that long.*

*She's the bravest little human I know of,* Hound said. *She'll last.*

Some part of Bumblebee registered the movement and groaning that was taking place around him, but his optics were riveted on Mattie's moving form. Quintessa was messing with her face now, her mouth was curving up and her eyes opening in a sick caricature of a smile. It was horrifying to watch, but he couldn't look away.

"Still no word from you, young one? All right, then." Suddenly Mattie was arched backwards, spine bending near the point of snapping. Bumblebee shouted, reaching for his mate, but he was too far away. Before he could reach her, she crumbled to the ground again.

"Ah," Quintessa said with satisfaction. "He's found her."

 _He? He who?_ As the ancient one's focus switched away from Bumblebee, he realized he could move his legs again. He was at Mattie's side in an instant.

"Mattie? Love, are you okay?"

*How is she, Bumblebee?*

*I can't wake her, Prime. But she's alive. I'm afraid to move her, I don't know if her back is broken.*

*Then don't touch her. Let her lie – I know it's difficult, but we need you in this.* Prime's comm voice was grim. *We have more company.*

 _More company?_ Bumblebee turned to look over the scene behind.

A dark shape was walking down between the buildings towards them. He was carrying Viviane in one grey hand, the staff of Merlin in the crook of her elbow. "Mistress, I've found her."

*Is that…*

*Who is that?*

Quintessa smiled, a feral grin that was strangely at odds with her human face. "Good work, my servant," she praised. "Bring her and my staff here."

Megatron smirked as the new Decepticon made his way down among the fallen humans. The newcomer didn't take any care of where he trod, and Bumblebee winced as several soldiers suffered crushing injuries under the dark pedes.

"For once, a decent job, Seawing," Megatron purred. "You've redeemed yourself."

"Thank you, Lord Megatron," the newcomer replied. "Does this mean you'll let my brothers go?"

"That's up to her." Megatron nodded towards Quintessa.

Bumblebee watched closely as Seawing put Viviane down on the ground, in a small hollow that left her out of sight of the other Autobots. *She seems unhurt. Just out cold, like the others.*

*Thank Primus for that,* Drift commed back. *We need her awake.*

*Why?* Scattorshot asked. *What do you know?*

*Viviane's the only one who can control the staff, aside from Quintessa,* Optimus replied. *She's the only one who can take it from her.*

*Okay…* Bumblebee replied. *So how do we wake her? She's not much competition for Quintessa at this point. I can't get close enough to take Quintessa out either, Megs is in the way.*

*The other soldiers started stirring when she lost her focus,* Hound said. *Maybe we can mess with her some more?*

*How?* Optimus asked.

*Grimlock.* Crosshairs sounded confident. *He adores Mattie. He'll do anything for her. Why don't you ask him to light up the night a little?*

Bumblebee's optics widened, and he dropped down over Mattie, shielding her with his frame just as the Dinobot leader's flames burned over Seawing and Quintessa. His audials picked up a furious roar and a high-pitched shriek, and the waves of heat rolled over his back.

*Clear,* Hound said. *And the soldiers are waking up. He got her but good.*

*Bumblebee, status.*

He raised his helm cautiously.

Seawing was on his knees, wings and kibble on his back burnt to stubs. Quintessa was in front of him, swaying, her clothes reduced to ash and her hair gone. Her skin was covered in horrendous burns.

Viviane, on the ground, seemed mostly unhurt. And stirring.

*Quintessa's still on her feet, but Viv's reviving,* he reported. *Megs is active, Seawing's probably in a lot of pain.*

*Cade's stirring too, and Lennox is back on his feet,* Crosshairs said. *Should we ask Grim to do that again?*

*Not with the soldiers moving,* Optimus replied. *They might get hit.*

"You treacherous, worthless, unworthy filth!" Quintessa screeched, blackened skin on her face cracking up with the movement. *I will not be thwarted anymore!"

Viviane was moving, curling around her staff. Carefully, painstakingly slowly, she was crawling away.

She didn't get very far.

Megatron moved faster than his bulk would suggest, lunging in and taking hold of the crawling woman. He pulled her to her feet by her hair, smirking when she cried out in pain. "Mistress, your prize is escaping."

Quintessa hissed through ruined lips. "Vile creature. The staff is mine."

"No," Viviane gasped, standing on her toes as Megatron tugged at her hair. "It's not." Pale fingers crusted with blood clutched the staff close. "It's mine."

"You are insignificant," Quintessa snarled. "You cannot fight me!"

"We are fighting you," Viviane grunted, pulling the staff close to her body. Suddenly, she dropped down to her heels, wincing at the pain, and then she jumped straight up, curling her legs under her. As she dropped back down, she tore loose from Megatron's grasp – some of her hair slipping out of his grasp, a lot of it pulling out from her head.

*Crazy, wildsparked femme,* Crosshairs said with awe.

Viviane looked up from her crouched position, staring at Quintessa through the blood flowing down her face. "Newsflash, bitch," she grinned ferally. "We'll never stop fighting you."

Quintessa screeched like a wild animal. She threw herself at Viviane, ruined, clawlike hands grabbing at the staff. The next moment, she had a hold of one end of it.

The ground trembled beneath them, throwing the still moaning Seawing to his knees and making Megatron take a step back. Bumblebee, still crouched over his mate's still form, had to throw out a hand to steady himself. When he caught his balance, he looked at the two female forms – one ruined, one crouching, and both glowing with an eerie blue light.

*Bumblebee, status!*

*Colonel Lennox, I've never been this glad to hear your voice,* Bumblebee replied grimly. *Viv and Quintessa are both holding the staff. They're… they're glowing, sir.*

*Both of them?* Optimus replied. *That cannot be good.*

*I can't get closer. The ground is moving too much, and Megatron is still in my way.*

*So are they fighting over it?* Hound asked.

Bumblebee made himself move, crawling slowly closer until Mattie was behind him. He peered between Megatron's legs.

*They're both frozen,* he replied. *It doesn't look like they're moving at all. No, wait.* He watched as the staff slowly, slowly was pulled from Viviane's grasp, millimetre by millimetre. "Quintessa is pulling the staff away, but it's really slow going. We might have time to intervene.*

*I'm trying, but I can't get closer,* Drift replied. Bumblebee could just see him on the other end of the beach. *Not through these tremors.*

*Pit-spawned geologically unstable mud ball planet,* Crosshairs cursed.

*Language,* Optimus said. There was a pause. *Then again, the planet is formed around Unicron. So you're not far off, really.*

*Can anyone target her?*

*Negative, she's too close to Viviane! I'll hit both of them.*

*That may be a sacrifice we have to make.* The Prime sounded grim.

*What? No! We can't shoot the descendant of Merlin!*

*Easy, Scattorshot. We may have to, my friend.*

*I know what Viviane would choose,* Lennox said darkly. *Her or the planet? No contest.*

*Target Quintessa, Scattorshot,* Optimus said heavily. *Unless we find another option within the next few minutes, you need to take her out.*

*… Understood, sir.*

*Bee, how's it looking down there?*

*About half-way now, Prime.*

Bumblebee watched as the staff slid steadily towards Quintessa and out of Viviane's hands. It was hard to tell in the tremor and the noise whether they were actually consciously moving, or whether sheer force of will was doing the pulling.

And then Megatron moved.

The warlord took one unsteady step towards the staff, one clawed servo reaching down to tear at Viviane. Bumblebee threw himself forwards, but he was too far away, he'd never be able to reach them in time.

But Cade could.

Just as Megatron's claws touched Viviane's head, the last Knight of Iacon stood, sword in hand, scale-like armor covering his arms and torso. And with one heavy, downwards sword strike, the staff was cut in half.

And the world seemed to implode.

Megatron was thrown back, away from the beach, landing heavily in the water. Both Cade and Viviane dropped like stones, seemingly lifeless.

Quintessa screamed, loudly enough that Bumblebee offlined his audial sensors again. He dropped down and clung to the ground as shockwave after shockwave rolled over him, felling the soldiers who had managed to get back on their feet. The ground trembled, this time hard enough that the water drew away from the beach and the buildings that had sustained damage collapsed. He couldn't do anything but hold on and ride the tremors out.

Bumblebee forced his optics to cycle open, raising a servo to shield them from flying sand and debris. He tried to make sense of the scene before him – in the everlasting seconds that the shock waves had lasted, the world was changed.

Viviane and Cade still lay where they had fallen, and he could see Drift trying to force himself to his feet behind them. But the ground beneath them, the beach that once was smooth, white sand, had turned to black glass, sharp and edgy, with swirls of purple and grey concentrated under Viviane and Cade.

Of Quintessa, there was no sign.


	38. Chapter 38

Mattie opened her eyes groggily. There was a white ceiling above her. When she turned her head to look around – gently, because it hurt, a lot – she could see equally white walls, cheerful curtains in front of a window, and a bed with rails.

_Well, damn. I'm in a hospital. Again._

Turning the other way, she could see Cade.

He was sitting in a chair by her bedside, sleeping. He looked drawn and tired, even with his head resting against his arm on the side of her bed. She looked around, trying to get some idea of what time it was, but her room was maddeningly unhelpful in that respect. She couldn't even tell if it was light outside or not from this angle.

To wake him or not to wake him?

Well, not wake him, obviously. Not the way he looked. Besides, as long as she didn't know whether it was in the middle of the night or not, waking him up would be kind of rude.

_Okay. Time for the thrice-annual mandatory post-comatose systems check._

_Left ankle – check. Left knee – check._

_Right ankle – no. No way._

Mattie looked down to see her right leg looking twice the size of her left.

Okay, so a cast. From the knee down, apparently.

Her arms seemed to work as well, though her shoulder hurt a lot when she tried to move it. And her back was _burning_. Still, it could have been worse.

It could have been a lot worse.

_Now… Why am I here this time?_

At first she couldn't remember.

Then she did.

And as she did, the machines around her, the ones she was hooked up to, started beeping loudly. It was enough to wake the dead.

It was certainly enough to wake Cade. His elbow slipped, and he almost hit his head on the wood of the armrest. His eyes were suddenly open wide, staring wildly, until they landed on her. Then he relaxed.

"Mattie," he sighed, smiling at her. "Hey, kiddo. You're safe, you're fine. We're at the military hospital in Landstuhl. In Germany. Relax."

Easier said than done, though. The last thing Mattie could remember was standing on the beach and facing down Quintessa, and suddenly she was waking up in a hospital.

She was missing a lot of time there.

Cade must have noticed her panicking slightly, because he stood up carefully and walked over to her bed. For the first time, she noticed that he was pulling along an IV stand with two different bags hanging on it, leading to a line inserted in his hand. His right arm was encased in a cast, and his face was swollen and blue on one side. His hair had been shaved off on the same side, a bandage affixed to his head just above his ear.

"Cade, you look like crap," she said – or tried to say. Her voice was scratchy and low, and it hurt her throat to speak.

"Well, them's the breaks," he grinned, the whole expression lopsided due to his injured face. "How do you feel?"

She thought about it. "Like I just witnessed the end of the world for the second time in my life."

"Yeah, this was a really close call," Cade sighed, sitting down on the side of her bed. "How much do you remember?"

She didn't want to think about that. She didn't want to see those lilac eyes in her mind. And there was someone she had to know about first. "Bumblebee?"

Cade grinned again, knowingly. "He's fine. Wasn't even injured, though that bitch rid him of the use of his legs for a while during the battle. He's been really worried about you."

Mattie took a deep breath, the first one she felt like she'd been able to take since she woke up. Bee was fine.

"So what's the verdict, Cade? How many weeks of physical therapy am I in for this time?"

"Well, you busted your leg again," he replied, reaching over to knock on her cast. "Dislocated shoulder with a lot of strained and busted muscling. And they're still not a hundred per cent sure about your back, it's hard to tell how bad it is before you're up and walking." He paused, looking at her. "Quintessa almost broke it while you were unconscious."

Mattie took a deep breath. Apparently, the time had come to learn just how much she had been out for.

"Cade… What happened? I remember Raptor falling, and Hellion, and then Quintessa on the beach, making Charger throw me…" She bit her lip, looking up at him. "What happened?"

He leaned back, sighing. "Truth be told, honey, we're not sure. I think we defeated her, but there was no body, so we can't actually be sure. Megatron's gone AWOL, but we're reasonably certain he's alive. Aside from that…" He shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Mattie nodded. That was a relief, and yet not. Because she still didn't _know_.

So she steeled herself, taking double handful of the bed sheet. "Tell me. How bad is it?"

Cade obviously understood what she was asking. He frowned, reaching out to place a hand over her own. "As I said, Bee's fine. So's Prime, though he needed some minor work on his leg. The Autobots are fine." He took a deep breath. "Izzy's fine. We've sent her to your family, she's safe and comfortable there."

Mattie smiled a bit at that. Her brother would be happy.

"As you can see, I'm on my feet. Mostly." He winked, but the happy expression faded quickly. "So's Lennox. He spent about an hour being very grumpy, and then he was back to his old self. Ryan's fine. Quinn…" He sighed, pulling a hand through his hair, and Mattie clenched her jaw. "Quinn's going to have to learn to walk with a prosthetic leg. Still, it could have been a lot worse."

Mattie managed to breathe again. Cade was right, that could have been a lot worse.

But there was someone he hadn't mentioned. "Viviane?"

Cade sighed again, suddenly looking a decade older. "She's still in ICU, floating in and out of consciousness. She fought Quintessa over the staff, and somehow that did a real number on her brain and nervous system, they're not sure what to make of it. She'll survive, but they're unsure if she'll regain full mobility and language. The rest of her physical damage is superficial."

"Cade, I'm so sorry," Mattie breathed. "And the baby?"

At that, he smiled. "Caledon's fine. Strong, healthy, developing as he should. Due March seventh."

"That's awesome!" Mattie squealed. "God, I hope Viviane'll be fine. Anything else would be too bloody unfair." She leaned back into the pillows, relaxing. They were fine. They were all fine. She'd have to go see Quinn and Viviane when she could, and then when she was better Bee could come and pick her up and…

… Wait.

"Cade," she pushed out, icy tendrils suddenly squeezing her heart. "Cade, what about the Dinobots?"

"I was hoping you didn't pick up on that," Cade sighed, a hand rubbing at his eyes. "There's no easy way to say this. Mattie, I'm so, so sorry." He reached out, squeezed her hand. "Grimlock's fine. Nothing but scratches. Your Charger's fine, too – he needed some bodywork, and Quintessa messed up some of his joints when she took him down, but he's fine. Hellion and Raptor…" Mattie could barely breathe, barely noticed Cade was squeezing her hand. "Mattie, I'm so sorry. We lost them."

"No," Mattie choked. "No, no, Cade, no, not them, no, tell me that's not true!" At the end of her words she was sobbing, clutching at the bedlinens and his hand hard enough to draw blood.

"I'm sorry, Mattie," Cade said again, leaning closer and putting his arms around her. "There was nothing anyone could do. Hellion – Megatron broke his spark chamber when he threw him into the docks, and with the salt water flowing into his systems… He was gone before we could even get to him. And Raptor…"

"Skywarp shot him," Mattie remembered. Her voice was barely audible.

"He did," Cade confirmed. "Izzy tried, poor thing, but she couldn't save him. I don't think anyone could have. At the end of the day, both of them were really too young to be in battle, still children, really. Their plating hadn't hardened enough, and their systems couldn't take the strain."

"Then it's my fault," Mattie mouthed, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"No, Mattie," Cade said, leaning back, looking sternly at her. "No. None of this is your fault. If we're going to blame anyone, we're going to put the blame right where it belongs, with that bitch who started this in the first place."

"But I told them to go out there," Mattie wailed. "I told Hellion to go down to the beach, I let them out of the hangar."

Cade shook his head. "Mattie, no power on Earth could have kept Grimlock in that hangar if he didn't want to be there. You didn't order any of them to do anything, Lennox did. And if they hadn't wanted to obey, they wouldn't have. Nobody can make the Dinobots do anything they don't want to." He pulled her close again, carefully so he didn't jostle her bruised spine. "No, kiddo. None of this is on you. None of it."

Mattie just sobbed. She cried and cried until she cried herself to exhausted sleep there against Cade's shoulder.

* * *

She had thought the beeping was difficult to ignore in her own room. It was incessantly loud here.

Viviane's still form was shrouded, mostly covered by blankets and sheets. One pale arm was resting on top of the sheet, hand resting against the visible bump of her stomach. She wasn't awake.

Mattie stood outside, looking in through the window. Viviane was fragile enough that they didn't want anyone visiting her but Cade, so Mattie was relegated to waiting outside and looking in like a spectator.

It felt horrible.

Everything did, these days.

Gathering up her crutches, she turned and hobbled to the elevator, hitting the button for the fifth floor. At least they were all in the same hospital. Lennox had made sure of that. He couldn't get them on the same floor, due to their different injuries, but he at least managed to keep them in the same building.

Mattie winced as she walked, her spine burning for every step. The doctors had said it was good for her to move, in moderation, and the trip from her own second floor room up to Viviane's on fourth and then Quinn's on fifth was pretty much the extent of what she could do. So that's what she did, every day. So far, Viviane hadn't been awake when she'd been there.

Cade was there sometimes, but he was healing up too, and not allowed to wander around completely freely. He'd gone with her once to see Viviane, and once to see Quinn, but he was also spending a lot of time talking to Lennox and Optimus. So most of the time, she was alone.

Quinn looked up and grinned as she hobbled in, wincing. "Hey, it's the warrior princess!"

"Hi, Jared," she grinned, making her way slowly over to his chair. "How's the leg?"

"Oh, you know," he smirked, "pleasantly detached."

Mattie had to giggle at that. Quinn had taken to his knew one-legged existence with the darkest sense of humor she'd ever encountered. Though she knew he was pulling at least some of those jokes to try to cheer her up. "You get the peg leg yet?"

"They tried one on me yesterday, didn't go with my eye patch," he leered. "No, seriously. They came by with a prototype, but the thing didn't fit right." He grinned, looking pleased with himself. "Apparently, I've got too much muscle mass."

"Well yeah, you're a regular Hulk," Mattie grinned. "So where's Ryan today?"

Quinn frowned, plucking at the sheets. "Talking to my family. They're not happy."

"I can imagine," she said softly. "It has to be difficult for them, having you injured like this."

He snorted. "Oh, the thing with my leg is no problem. I lost my leg in battle, it's pretty much a badge of honor. No, they're not happy with me. With my… aberrant lifestyle."

"You and Ryan?" Mattie guessed.

"Yeah." He sighed. "They've pretty much told me not to bother coming home for Christmas."

"Jared, I'm so sorry," Mattie sighed, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "You know, my parents are inviting everyone over. You're welcome, if you want, you and Ryan both."

"I appreciate that, Mattie," he smiled softly. "Ryan really wanted to bring me home to his family for Christmas, though. I'll keep your offer in mind in case that falls through, okay?"

Mattie nodded. "You do that. You'll be more than welcome."

Quinn squeezed her hand once, then let go, leaning back with his arms behind his head. "So everyone's celebrating Christmas in Brittany, huh?"

"Yeah," Mattie grinned. "You know my parents run a holiday center, so there's plenty of room. Bee's coming, Cade and Viviane, if she's well enough by then." Her face fell slightly.

"It's a few weeks away still," Quinn said. "She will be. The doctors did say she was making progress, right?"

"Yeah," Mattie nodded. "Keeping my fingers crossed. Anyway, Izzy's already there, and Cade's daughter Tessa's coming too. Haven't met her yet, but she's Cade's daughter, so she's probably cool."

"The Autobots?" Quinn asked.

"Just Bee, I think," Mattie said. "My mom invited all of them, but Optimus wasn't too sure about dragging a bunch of Autobots into the French forests. Also, they're a bit too big to navigate the woods, except for Bee. And he wouldn't be apart from me, he said."

Talking about Bumblebee hurt. She hadn't seen him in the two weeks she'd spent in the hospital – he wasn't really sized for visits, and she wasn't fit to go outside yet.

She missed him horribly.

Quinn must have noticed what she was thinking about, because he reached out and pulled at her arm until she moved over to sit on the bed. Then he put his arms around her.

"Hey," he murmured, stroking her hair softly. "I know it's hard. It's the hardest thing there is. Not only being stuck in here alone, but facing all that we've lost as well. All those we lost."

Mattie nodded against his shoulder. She knew that he knew how it felt.

Because it wasn't just Hellion and Raptor, much as that was bad enough. Quintessa and the Decepticons had torn through the soldiers, killing and maiming with equal abandon. Hadley was gone, along with half his squad. That had stung, too – Mattie didn't know him very well, but she remembered him walking her back to her room when Quinn still had been angry at her. Heimling's squad had been decimated. In total, Lennox had lost more than half the men under his command.

 _I won't think about that now_ , Mattie vowed. _We'll honor them, yes, somehow. But right now, I can't think about them._

"It's okay to be distraught," Quinn continued. "And it's okay to focus on yourself, too. You don't have to be strong for anyone else."

"It's like you read my mind," Mattie said shakily. "I feel horrible half the time because I actually forget about them, and then it all comes crashing back and I'm a really bad person for not grieving them and then I don't know what to do anymore, and Viviane's still unconscious and –"

"Hey, hey, hey, easy, Mattie," Quinn said, pushing her back slightly and looking into her eyes. "Listen to me. It's okay. It's okay to have survived, even though they didn't. It's okay to be up on your feet even though Viviane and me aren't." One of his hands lifted to her cheek. "It's okay to miss Bee like crazy. It's okay. I understand."

Mattie tried to blink the tears away. God, she'd been doing a lot of crying lately.

"D'you want to stay here with me for a while?" Quinn asked softly. "I just had my meds, so no one should be coming in here for an hour or so."

Mattie nodded, letting Quinn pull her down until she was lying next to him on his good side with her injured leg on the bed. Quinn's arm was around her shoulder, stroking her hair gently.

"Does it get better?" she murmured. She didn't have to specify what she meant.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Yeah, it does. After a while. But you have to give it the time it actually takes."

She nodded, closing her eyes. "Thanks for letting me stay."

"Sure," he murmured. "Anytime you need to."

Mattie fell asleep against his shoulder.

* * *

Two weeks later, Mattie was finally allowed to walk out the front doors of the hospital under her own power. It was bittersweet. Viviane was still on the fourth floor, though awake more often now than before, and Quinn had been moved down to second, where they were working on physical therapy with him. Leaving felt a little bit like betrayal.

Mattie still had her crutches, though her cast had been changed to a walking cast which would come off soon. Her back hurt like the pit all the time, but the doctors had finally agreed that she was mostly bruised and regular exercise would do her good. So now she was looking forward to regular exercise with cast and crutches.

Yippee.

All her dark thoughts, her slight depression, her grief, her pain was forgotten, though, as she stepped outside. Because there was a yellow Camaro with black racing stripes waiting for her by the sidewalk.

She barely managed to keep from blurting out his name right then and there, and there was no way to keep the tears back. So she just stumbled her way up to the passenger door as it opened, sliding in with no grace at all.

"Bumblebee," she sobbed, leaning back against the seat and snuggling up against the soft leather.

"Mattie," he breathed elatedly, fastening the seatbelt around her and closing the door. "Oh, angel/I missed you so much."

"I missed you more," she whispered, reaching out and running her hand across the dashboard. "More than you could believe."

"How are you?" he asked hesitantly. "Lennox/tells me some stuff/but he leaves/a lot more/out."

"I'm as good as I can be, I guess," she replied as he pulled out into the traffic. "Physically, I'm healing. My leg's going to be good soon, my back is just bruised, and my shoulder barely hurts anymore. Mentally…" She sighed. "I don't know. I feel like I'm stuck on the outside, looking in, like nothing much makes sense anymore. Cade said we won, but it sure doesn't feel like it."

"It never/feels like a victory/when we lose someone," Bumblebee sighed. "And this time/ the price was very high. But it was worth it/Mattie. Remember that. We saved the world."

"But we lost Hellion and Raptor," Mattie whispered, tears still flowing freely down her cheeks. "And all those soldiers."

There was silence for a moment. "Yeah, we did," Bumblebee replied sadly. "I'm so sorry/angel. I know you loved them."

Mattie nodded, then rubbed at her eyes. "Where are we going?"

"There's a base/not far from here," he replied. "The others are staying there for now."

"Okay," Mattie nodded. She snuggled back against the seat again and stared out the window. Thankfully, Bumblebee didn't talk to her for the rest of the drive – instead, he hummed softly, seatback rubbing at her and caressing her the whole time.

When they got there, the base looked like an army base. It was interesting to Mattie that she could tell it was an army base on sight, now. _Lennox must be rubbing off on me._

Bumblebee was barely in among the buildings proper before he transformed, cradling her close and kissing her until she couldn't breathe. And that was fine by her.

Eventually though, she really did have to breathe. So she twisted slightly in his grasp, until Bumblebee was nuzzling at her neck instead.

"Bumblebee, I love you," she gasped, clinging to him. "Never let me go again?"

"That's a promise," Bee rumbled. "Especially since you get hurt when I let you go."

"Not true," she grinned. "That's just when you let me go in battle situations. Which I have no intention of being in ever again, by the way. So you've better have gotten rid of Megatron."

He nuzzled at her stomach. "As you command, mistress. I live to do your bidding."

That had her giggling. It felt fantastic – she hadn't been this happy in weeks, not since before the klaxons rang on the night Quintessa appeared.

That thought sobered her again instantly. Bumblebee noticed, nuzzling at her hair gently. "What's wrong, angel?"

She leaned against him, resting her forehead against his cheek plate. "Is... Are Grimlock and Charger here?"

He shifted his grip on her until she was cradled against his chest, head resting above the gentle humming of his spark. "Yes. I'll take you to them."

As he walked, Bumblebee began talking. And Mattie realized that Cade had been very restrictive in what information he had actually given her. _Bee's not telling me everything, either_ , she realized. _But at least he knows how much I need to know._

"I was so afraid we'd lost you," he murmured, one finger moving up and down her back. "When Quintessa dropped you unconscious. We still don't know how she did that – Lennox theorized that she reversed your blood flow somehow. She was powerful enough to do it to all the humans at once. I've never been so scared in my life."

"How did you defeat her?" Mattie murmured. "Cade didn't say."

"It was Cade and Viviane," Bee replied. "Viviane fought her for the staff, and then when they both had it in their hands Cade cut it in two with his knight sword. Caused a shock wave that threw Megatron into the sea and everyone else down on their afts."

"Sounds impressive," Mattie commented, trying to get some of her good humor back. "Where was I when all this was going on? Oh yeah, lying unconscious with a busted leg."

"Scaring me half to death," Bumblebee said huskily, pulling her closer to him. "Quintessa was manipulating you as a puppet. I've seen a lot of horrible things, Mattie, but I never want to see anything like that again. Ever." He held her so tight that it almost hurt, but Mattie didn't mind. She felt safe for the first time in ages.

Bumblebee reached a large building tucked behind the others, pushing open the warehouse-type door with one hand. "They're in here."

The inside of the building was dim, almost dark. Mattie blinked rapidly to get her eyes used to the change. It was one large, open space, with evidence that there had been compartments there recently that had been taken down in a hurry. Screws, bolts and metal supports were still lying around on the floor.

Bumblebee put her down on the floor gently, making sure she had her balance before handing her the crutches. "I'll give you some privacy, okay?"

"Thanks," Mattie murmured, beginning a slow and awkward shuffle into the room.

She got all of three steps in before she was assaulted. A large metal frame bowled into her, wrapping around her before she could fall, steadying her.

"Mattie!" a voice squealed. "Mattie, Mattie, Mattie, Mattie!"

She didn't recognize the voice, though. Or the arms holding her tight. This mech seemed about the same size as Bee, but built very differently. A lot sturdier.

"Who…?"

"Mattie, is me. Don't know?"

The mech pushed back from her until she could see his face. She didn't recognize him – his face, young and grinning down at her, was completely unknown. He had a horned cowl of some sort behind his head and really massive legs, and she had never seen him before in her life.

"I'm sorry," she said, pushing herself back to her feet. "I don't know you."

Instead of getting insulted, the strange mech just grinned wider. "That okay. Never seen this form before. Me finally grew t-cog! Can transform now!"

_…_ _No. Surely not. It can't be… Can it?_

"Charger?" she whispered.

And the Dinobot hugged her, laughing, standing up with her and swinging her around and around. "Yes! Me Charger!"

His laugh was infectious, and she was soon laughing along with him. "Wow, monkey! When did this happen?"

"Not long," he grinned, finally slowing and putting her down. "Only days. Everyone very happy! Him Prime give congra… Congru…" Charger frowned.

"Congratulations?" Mattie guessed, smiling.

"Yes! Those! And me Charger wait for you Mattie, wanting show you mech form! So glad you Mattie came!"

"I was in the hospital," Mattie said, reaching out to stroke the cowled hood that she now recognized to be part of his dinosaur alt mode. "I was injured in the battle."

"Yes. Me Charger remember." He sat down on the floor, cradling her in his lap and suddenly looking very morose. "Me Charger dropped you Mattie."

"No." Mattie shook her head. "Quintessa attacked you, monkey. This wasn't your fault at all." She took hold of one of his hands, holding his digits. "It was all Quintessa."

"Him Raptor and him Hellion gone," Charger said sadly. "Me Charger have no brothers now."

"I know. I'm so sorry," Mattie said, tears coming to her eyes again. "I couldn't protect them, Charger. I couldn't save them."

The young Dinobot stared at her, then lifted a digit to gently stroke her cheek. It took her a moment to realize he was drying her tears with his metal digits. "No. That also her Quintessa's fault. You Mattie human, not soldier. You couldn't protect him Raptor and him Hellion." He snorted. "Him Hellion not even like you much. Liked fighting, though. Always fighting. Him Hellion only listen to you because you Mattie tell him Hellion to do what him Hellion wanted anyway. No. Not you Mattie's fault."

Mattie trembled, small, quiet sobs forcing their way up her throat. "Charger, I miss them."

"Yeah." He pulled her closer. "Me Charger miss them, too."

* * *

When Mattie finally managed to tear herself away from Charger – and that was much harder than she'd thought – she found Optimus waiting for her with Bumblebee outside the hangar. When he saw her, he knelt down, holding down his hand for her to climb into.

"Mattie," he rumbled. "It is good to see you. I'm sorry for your loss."

"I'm sorry for yours, Optimus," she replied. "I at least hope it was a definitive victory this time."

"I wish we could be sure," he said, turning around and walking away from the Dinobot hangar. "But we have no physical trace of Quintessa or Megatron. That never bodes well." He looked down at her. "I hear you're spending Christmas with your family."

"Yes," Mattie replied. "Thank you for letting Bee come." She flashed her mate a smile. "It's important to us."

He chuckled, a low rumble in his chest. "I don't think I could have kept him away. And I do hope you will all have a wonderful time. I also wanted to ask you something."

"Oh?" Mattie looked up at him. "What do you need, Optimus?"

"Give me a moment," he said, pointing forward. "We'll discuss it when we're all together."

He ducked into another hangar, bigger even than the last one. This one was brighter, too. And when Mattie's eyes got used to the light, she noticed that the other Autobots were already there.

"Mattie!" Hound called, waving at her. She grinned and waved back.

"Hey, mechs! Great seeing you all!"

Optimus walked forward, depositing her on a large storage crate in the middle of the open space. "Mattie, we have something to ask you. And we'll all understand if you say no."

Mattie looked from Optimus to Bee. Her yellow mate was hanging back, standing near Drift over by the wall. He winked at her when she looked his way, but didn't come any closer.

"The Autobots are being relocated to a base in Nevada," Optimus said. "Our alliance with the humans is active again. General Morshower made a deal with your president on our behalf." He knelt, so he could look her in the face more easily. "I know this is not what you had planned. And I understand if you don't want to come with us. You've seen a lot of horrible things in the last year with us, and you've been injured because of us many times. Still, you are a dear friend to most of us, more to some." The Prime shot a look at Bumblebee. "So we would be honored if you came with us to our new base. After you've celebrated Christmas and New Year's Eve with your family, of course."

Mattie just stared at him. Then she burst out in loud giggles.

The Autobot leader stared at her. _He thinks I've snapped or something._

"Yes, please, Optimus," she finally managed. "I'd love to come. I know I'm not very useful, but if you want me around, I'll be there."

"You've got a keen mind," Drift said. "Lennox believes you can be trained. As do I."

 _That's… actually quite the compliment._ "Thank you, Drift."

"You're sure?" Optimus asked, his bright blue optics locked on her. "It will not be risk free."

"Neither will staying away from you be," she pointed out. "In fact, I was injured worse without you than I was with."

"That's true," Crosshairs said. He grinned at her. "Who would've thought that the little girl who was so afraid of aliens would grow up to help save the world."

"We all saved the world," Mattie replied, grinning. "That's what you guys do, isn't it?"

"This time," Optimus agreed. "This time it was."

Bumblebee came hurrying up to her then, a wide grin on his faceplates. "Come on, angel," he laughed, picking her up and spinning around with her. "We're overdue for some quiet time." He cradled her up against his chest plates and smirked at the other Autobots. "Later, mechs."

Mattie was blushing so furiously she was surprised the glow didn't reflect off Bumblebee's chest plates.

* * *

**Finalis – a few weeks later**

* * *

The barn wasn't a barn any longer. Oh sure, the basic structures were still there – the rough-hewn roof beams, the wood panelling, the concrete floor. But it had been transformed.

There were haybales set out across the floor and covered with blankets, with a low table set between them to hold the plates and food. Carpets were covering most of the concrete, and heaters had been placed in a circle around the central space to warm everything up. And the Christmas tree, much taller than they would have been able to fit in the house, was the crowning glory of her mother's preparations, glowing with its own strings of light just beyond the seating area.

The presents were stacked high in preparation for the next morning, and the feasting was over. Mattie was leaning tiredly and happily against Bumblebee's chest plates. She was looking at her brother, sitting across the table from Izabella and completely unable to take his eyes off the girl. _He's absolutely smitten, still. That's nice._

Her parents was doing the traditional good-natured arguing over who was actually supposed to do the dishes. Cade was sitting with Viviane in his lap, feeding her spoonfuls of pudding. Viviane was laughing too hard to actually manage to eat any, while Tessa, Cade's daughter, was sitting next to both of them and giggling like mad.

Her father stood up then, pinging his spoon gently against his glass. "If I may have a moment?"

Silence fell.

"Thank you." He smiled his customary small smile, somehow managing to encompass all of them. "I want to propose a toast for all the new blessings in our lives. For Izabella, who with her tireless spirit and sharp mind has been a welcome addition to our household for these last weeks. You are welcome to stay for as long as you like, ma chére." He smiled down at the teenage girl, then turned his face to Cade and his entourage. "For Cade and Viviane, who took in our daughter in her need and helped her when she needed it. Who we consider family. And who we are proud to call friends. And for Tessa, who we're thrilled to meet and hope to consider friend as well." The blonde in question grinned.

Her father turned then, looking at her and Bee. "And for Bumblebee. Someone we had never thought to meet, someone we couldn't even fathom existed, yet someone who has come to mean more to our daughter and to us than we had thought possible. Someone who, all outward appearances aside, I am proud to call my son." He paused, raising his glass. "Santé."

"Santé," Mattie echoed, raising her glass to her lips. She leaned against Bumblebee's side, pressing a kiss to his plating.

As her father sat back down and the choir of 'Santé' faded, Cade cleared his throat. "I have something to say as well. If I may?"

"Please," her father said, smiling easily.

"Thanks." Cade grinned at the rest of them. "Well, forgive me if I don't get up."

Mattie giggled. Although she had made remarkable recovery, Viviane was still not back to her old self. She was weak, had problems with her balance, and though her mind was sharp she had problems with her diction. She was still healing, though, and the doctors now believed she would make a full recovery.

"We have a lot to be grateful for as well," Cade said. "New family, new friends. Our own family." One hand gently caressed Viviane's stomach. "So we have an announcement to make. Well, two, actually. Mattie."

Mattie looked back to see that both Cade and Viviane were looking at her. "Yes?"

"We owe you a lot, kiddo," Cade said, smiling. "And you mean a lot to us. So when Caledon's born, well… We'd like you to be his godmother. If you want."

Mattie just gaped. "His – but – wow! Yes! Of course, yes! I'd be honored!" She grinned so widely her cheeks hurt. Bumblebee was crooning in her ear, rubbing his digit up and down her back.

"Good," Cade grinned. "That's one. Viviane?"

"Yes," the brunette said, struggling to sit up. Cade shifted her gently until she sat facing everyone. "We – Cade and I – love… you all. Very much. And. We w-w-w-wanted you. To be the f-irst to know." She turned, smiling a truly beatific smile at Cade. "Cade… somehow… wants me forever. He aaaasked me to marry him. And I said yes."

"No way!" Izabella squealed, jumping to her feet and bouncing up and down. "That is so awesome!"

"Congratulations, you two!" Mattie's mother beamed. "You'll be very happy together, I just know it!"

"That's not all," Cade said, taking over for his obviously tired fiancée as the ruckus died back down. "Tessa, Izabella, Mattie – you're all our family, by blood or not. So we'd like you to be bridesmaids."

Izabella squealed again, continuing her bouncing. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

"Of course," Tessa grinned. "I would absolutely love to."

"Likewise," Mattie laughed. "I can't believe you guys. Thank you so much."

As Viviane was swarmed by an excited Izabella with Mattie's mother right on her heels, and Tessa leaning over asking to see the ring, Bumblebee pulled Mattie close. "This marriage thing sounds interesting," he murmured in her ear, low enough that she knew no one else could hear him. "I know I probably don't have any legal rights in that respect, considering my alien status, but if it was at all possible… Would you want to try it? With me?"

Mattie just smiled even wider, reaching up to rub at the tears suddenly streaming down her cheeks. She twisted in his grip until she was flush against his frame, pressing kisses to the plating over his spark chamber. "Yes," she murmured, pulling back to beam up at him. "Yes, I would."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the official final chapter to the story. Thanks for coming this far with me! Mattie's story's been a wild ride, one I wouldn't be without, and my way into the fandom ^^  
> There is one more chapter. I'm going to post it separately from these. And I can't impress this enough on you: if you want to keep the happy ending, DO NOT READ THE EPILOGUE. You can stop here, and it'll be fine :)  
> The epilogue will be up in a few days.


	39. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH
> 
> If you want a happy ending to the story, stop reading now. What's ahead is not pleasant. But few endings are.
> 
> "Treasure each day with her, and live them fully, because they're numbered. There's no such thing as a happily ever after for us."

_**Ten years later...** _

_****_

It wasn't supposed to be like this. She had always thought it would be the other way around.

Optimus carefully laid the too-still yellow mech down on the ground in front of her.

"He still lives," he said quietly, a hitch in his voice. "You get to say goodbye."

Gently, oh so gently, careful to not disrupt the deep hole in his chest that was leaking Energon, Mattie leaned over him and pressed her lips to his mouth.

"I'm here, Bee."

"M-Mattie," he grunted. "So- Sorry. I didn't – come home to you this time."

"Yes, you did," she replied, whimpering, tears falling down her cheeks. "Optimus brought you home."

"You were – the best part," he choked, holding her weakly with one arm. The other ended in sparking wires just below the shoulder joint. "You were – always the best part – of my life. Know that."

"And you were mine," she whispered. "I'll love you always, my brave, brave Bumblebee." She kissed his face again, the tears on her face mingling with the dirt and Energon on his.

He grunted and gasped, suddenly tensing. Then he turned his optics on her. "S-sing to me? One last song?"

"Anything for you," she sobbed. "Absolutely anything."

To the end of her life, she couldn't understand where she found the strength. But she did. She sat singing for him, caressing his face, until his optics finally dimmed for the last time.

* * *

The triangular marble column stood tall in the sunlight. Writing covered almost all of it.

"You know, I remember when we erected this thing," Izabella said, taking a tighter hold of Jack's arm. Her baby bump was just visible under her jacket. "We were afraid it was too big. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought it would end up too small."

"Yes," Optimus replied. "We've paid a dear price for peace."

Mattie let her hand run down the list of names on the south side of the column. Some of the names she knew well – 'Bots she had fought alongside, known and loved. Most were known to her through the stories she had heard from her beloved Bumblebee and the other Autobots. She paused at many of them.

_Ratchet._

_Jazz._

_Ironhide._

_Chromia._

_Jolt._

_Jetfire._

_Sideswipe._

_Wheelie._

_Drift._

_Raptor._

_Hellion._

At the bottom, the trilithium steel writing clean and fresh on the marble, _Bumblebee_.

"Was the price worth it, Optimus?" she asked. "Is the peace worth the near-extinction of your race?"

"There is peace now," he said simply. "Bumblebee would have said that it is worth it."

Mattie walked around to the west side of the column. This one had human names. Here, there were many she didn't know, but a few jumped out at her – as they always did.

_William Lennox._

_Cade Yeager._

_Viviane Yeager._

_Caledon Jace Yeager._

She touched the names softly.

"My father would also have said it was worth the price," Annabelle said behind her. "That's why he fought."

Mattie turned towards her. Annabelle was standing a few steps away from the column, cradling a sleeping Rae Elizabeth. Viviane and Cade's daughter had her mother's colouring, but there was something of her father around her mouth, especially when she slept.

"You know dad and Viv thought so, too," Tessa agrees. Her eyes weren't on the column – she was watching her youngest half-brother. Edmund Hyde was running around in the park, chasing the birds and giggling.

For a moment, Mattie would have given anything to be that innocent again. The three-year-old didn't know that there was a war. He could barely remember losing his parents – he had been a year younger and Rae Elizabeth had been only a few months old when Megatron had hit their house. In time, he would forget.

"So what now, Marie?" her brother asked. "Where to?"

"My offer still stands," Optimus rumbled. "When we're done with the Mars base, we'll need an ambassador. Your insight would be invaluable. And I know Charger misses you."

"I miss him too," Mattie replied. The youngest Dinobot was already on Mars, using his massive strength to help construction. He was almost fully grown now, taller than the Prime – though still shorter than Grimlock. He would probably always be shorter than the Dinobot leader. "But I can't, Optimus. I need to find my equilibrium. I need to find out who I am without Bee." She turned towards her brother, smiling slightly. "Plus, I'm going to be an aunt soon. I want to be here for that."

Izabella smiled back at her. "We're naming her for Bee. Like Viv and Cade did with the others."

"It's a girl?" Tessa grinned. "Congratulations, guys."

Mattie walked over, placed a palm gently against Izabella's stomach. "Beatrice."

"Beatrice," her brother agreed. "Beatrice Victoria."

"Triumphant bringer of happiness," Annabelle said softly. "It's perfect."

"Congratulations," Optimus rumbled. He lifted his head, looking back to the edge of the memorial park. "I have to leave, my friends. You will comm me if you need me? I'm never far away." One giant finger gently caressed Mattie's back. "You're always in my thoughts."

"Thank you, Optimus," Mattie murmured. "We'll talk soon. Say hi to the others for me."

"Of course." Then the Autobot leader – the leader of the Cybertronians, now – was gone.

"We should go, too," Annabelle said, shifting her grip on the child in her arms. "These guys need to get some food and rest."

"You guys go," Mattie agreed. "I'm going to stay here for a while longer."

"You sure you're okay?" Jacques murmured, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Mattie nodded. "I will be. I just want some time." She kissed her brothers cheek lightly, then Izabella's. "I'll meet you guys for dinner later."

She turned back to the column, walking around until she could see his name again. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tessa laughing as she raced after the brown-haired little boy in the blue jacket. Edmund was a little carbon copy of his father, down to the glint in his eyes when he laughed.

"Nothing's gone forever, Bee," she murmured, touching his name again. "There's always something living on. I don't know where you've gone off to, but you'll wait for me there, right? After all," she chuckled quietly, even though the tears were flowing down her face again, "we don't live that long compared to you. You'll barely notice the wait, I promise. Though I'm telling you now, I'm planning to see all the kids well into adulthood. So you better not expect me any time soon." She lifted a hand, rubbing at her wet cheeks. "God, I miss you, Bumblebee. I feel like there's no ground underneath my feet anymore. I'm struggling, here, to find my way without you." One finger moved down to play with the ring hung on a chain around her neck. "You'll show me though, won't you? You're always with me, somehow. You always were." She leaned forward, kissing the steel letters softly. "I love you. For ever."

Then she stood up, and walked away.

 


End file.
